Alphabet Google: Reality Versus Research in Actual Management Activities
June 19, 2019
For a few months, I have been using my Woodruff High School Science Club as a source of ideas for understanding Silicon Valley management decisions. I termed my method HSSCMM or “high school science club management method.” A number of people have told me that my approach was humorous. I suppose it is. One former colleague from a big name consulting name observed that I was making official, MBA-endorsed techniques look like a shanked drive at a fraternity reunion golf scramble. (MBA students seem to be figuring out that their business degrees may open doors at Lyft or Uber, not McKinsey & Company.
Where the HSSCMM differs from “situational thinking without context” (this is DarkCyber jargon), Google research has identified best practices for management. However, HSSCMM is intuitive and easy to explain. My touchstone for management appears in the article “Google Tried to Prove Managers Don’t Matter. Instead, It Discovered 10 Traits of the Very Best Ones.” Google’s original goal involved figuring out if a sports team manager was important or not. Google’s brilliant analysts crunched numbers and found that coaches matter. The best ones shared some data-backed characteristics. Let’s compare what Google found with the HSSCMM.
I made an a MBA-influenced table to keep thoughts clear.
| # | Google Research Says | HSSCMM Approach | Observations |
| 1 | Be a good coach | Be arrogant because you understand differential equations | Google is working on discrimination |
| 2 | Empower | Others are stupid | The smartest person is in charge |
| 3 | Inclusive team | Exclusivity all the way. | Google hires best talent, and Google defines “best” |
| 4 | Be results oriented | Do what you want. Outsiders don’t get it. | Boost ad sales |
| 5 | Communicate | Don’t get it? You’re fired. | Explain YouTube is too big to be fixed |
| 6 | Have a strategy | React. Ignore the uninformed | Make quick decisions like buying Motorola |
| 7 | Support career development | Learn it yourself | Find a team or leave |
| 8 | Advise the team | Figure it out, or you don’t belong | First day at work confusing? Try flipping burgers |
| 9 | Collaborate | Work alone | Fix the problem or quit |
| 10 | Be a strong decision maker | Do what I say, dummy | Obvious, right? |
Answer this question: How many of the characteristics from each column match actions from Silicon Valley-type companies like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, etc.?
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| Which type of management method is exemplified in this allegedly true incident? The Google management research findings or the high school science club management methods? Answer: HSSCMM. |
As you formulate this answer, consider the decision making evidenced in this allegedly accurate article from 2017 about a Silicon Valley executive.
Stephen E Arnold, June 19, 2019
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