Contents
News About Google, Google executives complain about the CEO: decisive decisions and great ideas give way to conservative, As the saying goes, misfortune lies in blessings. Blessing lies in misfortune. This is also true in the business sector. Many companies are looking prosperous from outside. But they are already showing signs of decline. The New York Times wrote a few days ago that the search giant Google is now in this position.
Google’s position cannot be called bad. Its revenue and profits will reach new highs every three months. Its parent company Alphabet has a market value of over $1.6 trillion. The roots of Google products and services have become more and more deep in the daily lives of Americans. But many agitated Google executives worry the company is showing signs of decline.
Pichai’s leadership style is “too soft”?
These executives said that Google employees are becoming more and more vocal. Company personnel issues often cause controversy among the public. Decisive decisions and great ideas have paved the way for risk aversion and gradualism. There have been many executives soon. Or will be, and want everyone to know why they are doing it.
Noam Bardin joined Google in 2013, when Google acquired map services company Waze. Two weeks after leaving Google in February this year, he wrote in a blog post. “I’m always asked why do I want to leave now? I think the better question should be. Why should I stay here for so long? As the company takes on the risk appetite with the decline, innovation only gets worse. Will happen.”
Fifteen current and recently departed Google executives have said. That many of Google’s problems stem from the leadership style of the company’s friendly and low-key CEO Sundar Pichai. He said that Google is suffering from a lot of problems of a big mature company. Including redundant executive structure, tendency to do nothing and clinging to public opinion.
These executives also said that Google was slow to act on major business and personnel changes because Pichai repeatedly reconsidered decisions. Used to delay the time of action. He said that Google is constantly in the grip of infighting. Pichai’s efforts to reduce the light truck have had the opposite effect, making the problem worse.
A Google spokesperson said the results of an internal investigation into Pichai’s leadership abilities were positive. The company declined to comment on the 49-year-old Pichai. But arranged interviews with nine current and former executives to provide a different perspective on his leadership.
Caesar Sengupta, former Google vice president, said: “We would be happy if Pichai made a quick decision. Although almost all of his decisions are correct. It will make people happy. Are you happy?” Sengupta worked at Google for 15 years. Worked closely with Pichai and left in March.
Responding to regulatory challenges from home and abroad, Google is facing a critical moment of life and death. Both left-wing and right-wing politicians expressed distrust of the company. Which made Pichai a frequent visitor to Congressional hearings. Even Pichai’s critics say so. That he has so far successfully navigated these hearings without angering legislators or providing critics with more ammunition.
Too much time wasting when making decisions?
Google executives acknowledged this regarding Pichai’s leadership. Said Pichai is indeed a thoughtful and caring leader. They say that when Pichai took office six years ago. Since then Google is now more disciplined and organized with more professional operations on a larger scale.
During Pichai’s leadership at Google, Google’s employees doubled to nearly 140,000, and Alphabet’s market value quadrupled. This is not unusual for a company. that it has grown to such a large scale. That he is slow or unwilling to take the risk of making it so rich. Pichai has taken many measures to deal with this. For example, in 2019, they reorganized Google and created a new decision-making body. So that there are fewer decisions that he has to make personally.
However, Google, founded in 1998, has always been troubled by this notion. that his best days are over. In Silicon Valley, recruiting and retaining talent is a “referendum” on the company’s prospects. Executives at other technology companies said it has never been easier to persuade Google executives to forgo a steady seven-figure salary and look for opportunities elsewhere.
Pichai was an advisor to McKinsey & Company. He joined Google in 2004 and quickly demonstrated how to manage a company full of conceit and complacency. In 2015, Google became a subsidiary of Alphabet, and Pichai took over as the chief executive officer of Google. Four years later, Alphabet’s Google co-founder Larry Page resigned as chief executive. Pichardo Iraq was eventually promoted to head of the parent company.
In 2018, more than a dozen Google vice presidents tried to warn Pichai in an email that the company was experiencing major development difficulties. He believes that Pichai has difficulty in coordinating technical decisions. But feedback at the vice president level is often ignored. According to five people familiar with the matter, many of these executives have worked at Google for more than a decade. He wrote that Google wasted too much time making big decisions. Which made it difficult to complete anything on time. Although he did not criticize Pichai directly, the message was clear. Google needs a more decisive leadership role at the highest level.
Since then, many of the officials who signed this email have resigned. moved to other places. The professional social networking site LinkedIn reveals personal information. That at least 36 Google vice presidents have left the company since last year. Google has about 400 managers. who are the backbone of the company’s leadership. Google said it is not concerned about the turnover rate of vice president-level talent. Over the past five years, this number has remained stable.
Recruiting key executives is too protracted?
This is a common criticism among current and former executives. That although Pichai’s hesitant leadership style often makes people feel that way. that it is a safe way of doing things. This ultimately leads to delays or even shelving in decision making. A few years ago, Google executives proposed the idea of acquiring Shopify to challenge Amazon in the e-commerce space. But two people familiar with the matter said Pichai rejected the idea. Because he believed the cost of buying Shopify was too high.
But these people said that they had never thought so. That Pichai was interested in closing a deal, and the high price was a good reason. Shopify’s share price has risen nearly 10 times over the years. Google spokesman Jason Post (Jason Post) clarified. “We never seriously discussed this acquisition.”
One former executive said the company’s sustainable research and development position to avoid risk is internally known as the “food pantry model”. The team hides the product to prevent competitors from innovating. Google can respond quickly.
As everyone knows, Pichai personnel are slow to make decisions. In 2018, when Google promoted Kent Walker to senior vice president of global affairs. So the company started looking for general counsel to replace him. It took Google more than a year to select Halima Deline Prado. He has served as the second-in-command on the company’s legal team for a long time.
Several people familiar with the matter said that the Prado was initially provided to Pichai. Was placed first in the list of candidates. But Pichai asked to see more names. He said that the entire search took so long. That it became a joke in the industry. Pichai’s reluctance to make decisive adjustments to Google’s workforce is evident.
In December 2020, Timnit Gebru, co-leader of Google’s Ethical AI team and one of Google’s most famous black female employees, said. that they were fired. Because he criticized Google for hiring minorities. He also wrote a research paper. Which emphasized the inherent biases of Google’s AI technology. At first Pichai decided to stay away from this matter.
After 2,000 employees signed a petition protesting Gebru’s dismissal, Pichai issued an email to restore lost trust. But at the same time Google continued to promote the idea that Gebrew was not fired. Gebru said that this is not an apology. This gives the impression that it is like a public relations act. which was in line with the demands of the employees.
David Baker, the former engineering director of Google Trust and Security Group, has resigned in protest of Gebru’s dismissal. He said that Google should accept this. That he made a mistake instead of trying to save face. Baker, who has worked at Google for 16 years, said: “Google’s lack of courage on issues of diversity ultimately dampened my enthusiasm for this job. The more financially secure Google is. The more risk-averse is.”
Are you unambiguous when making major decisions?
executives said in the interview. That Google’s workforce may be much larger than previously thought led to many of the criticisms against Pichai. Maintaining Google’s assertive culture is a major challenge. Luiz Barroso, one of the company’s most senior technical directors, said: “I don’t think anyone can handle these issues quite like Pichai.”
Former Google Vice President Aparna Chennapradada left Google in April this year to be responsible for product development of the Robinhood trading application. She said Pichai has always insisted on not behaving like the “savior” of a corner office. who are supernatural and authoritarian masters. They often become romantics in the technology industry. But they can also become workplace cancers. Kinnapragada also said that Pichai also took several difficult and unpopular decisions, such as cutting down on “vanity projects”, which did not help the company much.
Google officials have said. That Pichai emphasized the management team rather than self-awareness. Due to which their representatives started making more decisions without them. But when it can be most important. So that was particularly decisive. As the new crown pneumonia epidemic began to spread in the United States. He ordered his employees to start working from home.
Google’s Vice President Sameer Samat said that it took almost a year to acquire the activity tracking company Fitbit Talks. Pichai has worked hard to help solve the problems faced in all aspects of the transaction. In which how to integrate the company. Product plans, and how you plan to protect user data. Pichai explored potential problems that were not fully considered. The acquisition of Fitbit was completed in January this year.
“I can see. Many of these discussions make people think. We are slow to make decisions. But the reality is that these are very important decisions.”
Google’s Vice President Samat Sameer
Source: The New york Times
Read More:
