Google – a new paradigm to cultivate innovation & collective intelligence

Here are some brief notes about how Google fosters collective intelligence through the structure of the organisation, values and culture.

About Google – Online Search and advertising ($23.6 billion in sales, 20,000 employees)

Comments from:

Gopi Kallayil (Group Marketing Manager, Google),
Bradley Horowitz (VP of Products, Google),
Meng Tan (Head of Personal Growth at Google)

Google has a healthy disrespect for authority and meetings; we create an environment where engineers (hacker culture) can get into the creative flow
Successful companies can create an environment, setting and culture that allows the flow to happen, “not by managing, but tending to garden”
Focus on results produced versus effort and time; allow people to manage their own schedules
Provide opportunities/environment for “ah moments”; this happens when people are relaxed and having fun
Incorporates mindfulness in organization with daily meditation practices, bringing spirit world into daily lives, blessing in email message
Strategies include: finding small amount of time each day to do yoga and meditation (team contemplates problems before coming up with solutions)
Non-negotiable commitments with self
Most important connection is with self (Search Inside Yourself program at Google)
Playfulness, increase efficiency and peacefulness – making them a priority (family Fridays)
Community and social integration
Create a curriculum of Emotional Intelligence (EI) – comes from inner development, attention and mindfulness
Continuous improvement and innovation comes from EI
Examples of courses provided: stress reduction, mindfulness, empathy, sleep, tea, speaker series
Googlish culture– bias toward people who are emotionally connected and altruistic
Googlish dress code – don’t be naked (naked is undefined)
Looking for “ Wisdom aptitude” in candidates
Green focus – offer free bikes all over campus for employees to ride to meetings; shuttle bus from San Francisco removes hundreds of cars from the California highways daily
Free food – no employee to be more than 200 feet from healthy quality food that is local, organic, sustainable; helps people work and enjoy life together…is good for biz

Enlightened leadership is needed – key elements include:

Fair and equitable incentive structure
Open management style and structure
Do the right thing, make people happy and successful (Be a force for good)
Mindfulness – deepen within companies, makes good business sense

Why – Business Benefits:

Improves profit – when improve EI studies have proven you increase productivity and efficiency
Leadership – best leaders have high EI
Happiness – when people are happy they are more creative and productive, not just today but tomorrow too (studies have shown)

Programs must: be backed by science to convince the skeptics; have real business benefits; engender compassion and be transformative; involves consciousness (not creating too much structure, maintaining openness, trust, not micro managed)

Many of these qualities and processes are simple and easy to instigate I hope this offers some inspiration to those looking to foster collective intelligence in their organisations.