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142 reviews for:
Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead
Laszlo Bock
4.03 AVERAGE
142 reviews for:
Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead
Laszlo Bock
4.03 AVERAGE
It made me slightly jealous of googlers who work at a company that seems to take a committed interest in the wellbeing of the employees and the long term healthy of the company.
Very different than my experience. I also had no idea the interesting and innovative things HR could do. I have been taught to expect incompetent route administration of corporate legal directives; I had no idea the profession could be more.
Very different than my experience. I also had no idea the interesting and innovative things HR could do. I have been taught to expect incompetent route administration of corporate legal directives; I had no idea the profession could be more.
75% fluff, 25% actionable insights - only actionable if you can change HR policies.
Blinks:
1. The secret to Google's culture is its mission, transparency, and voice
2. Hire the best people by looking beyond their degrees and focusing on the right kind of training
3. Let your people - with the help of data - run the show
4. Both your best and worst employees represent opportunities for your company - seize them!
5. Stop wasting resources on bad training, and use the best teachers within your own company
6. Sometimes Google rewards failure and pays people unfairly. Why?
7. Google confronts the dark side of its culture head on
1. The secret to Google's culture is its mission, transparency, and voice
2. Hire the best people by looking beyond their degrees and focusing on the right kind of training
3. Let your people - with the help of data - run the show
4. Both your best and worst employees represent opportunities for your company - seize them!
5. Stop wasting resources on bad training, and use the best teachers within your own company
6. Sometimes Google rewards failure and pays people unfairly. Why?
7. Google confronts the dark side of its culture head on
Cheesy as hell. Very annoying to read. Packed full of insight.
This came very highly recommended. After first two chapters, I was furious and the recommenders were losing credibility by the line. The stuff was full of platitudes, absolutely bereft of interesting points and read like a parody of how someone from Google would write for lay audience.
From chapter 4 on, things kick into the higher gear. All the annoying stuff is still there - twee Google-insider jargon, really annoying footnotes about anything remotely controversial and tiresome set pieces of corporate wackiness. Yet, there is great content on recruitment, performance management, knowledge sharing, training and business intelligence. Towards the end of the book, as the topics become a bit more general, the book tails off again.
While everything revolves around Google, there is always a good link back to how could similar approach work in non-Google context.
To be frank, I never craved to work for Google, though I did half-arsedly apply once. I definitely don't wish to do so now. The book confirms not just that Eggert's "The Circle" is absolutely about Google, but that there is not much fiction in there. In a wonderfully ironic twist, Bock confirms to have read the book, but denies all links between the two.
Which brings me to the final point in the book - it is blinkered as hell. Yes, it is full of interesting stuff, but it is also a 360-page treatise on HR from a company implicated in wage-fixing scandal and full of unquestioned libertarian bluster.
All in all, complex, annoying and extremely useful. Particularly for those working in startups outside SV where points discussed are still absolutely a novelty. If I were a VC in, say, Berlin, I would give out the copy of this book to every founding team I've made investment in.
This came very highly recommended. After first two chapters, I was furious and the recommenders were losing credibility by the line. The stuff was full of platitudes, absolutely bereft of interesting points and read like a parody of how someone from Google would write for lay audience.
From chapter 4 on, things kick into the higher gear. All the annoying stuff is still there - twee Google-insider jargon, really annoying footnotes about anything remotely controversial and tiresome set pieces of corporate wackiness. Yet, there is great content on recruitment, performance management, knowledge sharing, training and business intelligence. Towards the end of the book, as the topics become a bit more general, the book tails off again.
While everything revolves around Google, there is always a good link back to how could similar approach work in non-Google context.
To be frank, I never craved to work for Google, though I did half-arsedly apply once. I definitely don't wish to do so now. The book confirms not just that Eggert's "The Circle" is absolutely about Google, but that there is not much fiction in there. In a wonderfully ironic twist, Bock confirms to have read the book, but denies all links between the two.
Which brings me to the final point in the book - it is blinkered as hell. Yes, it is full of interesting stuff, but it is also a 360-page treatise on HR from a company implicated in wage-fixing scandal and full of unquestioned libertarian bluster.
All in all, complex, annoying and extremely useful. Particularly for those working in startups outside SV where points discussed are still absolutely a novelty. If I were a VC in, say, Berlin, I would give out the copy of this book to every founding team I've made investment in.
Took me a long time to get through but was filled with useful information. I can't recommend it unless you are planning to take an in depth look at the mechanics of performance management or recruiting but it's one of the better management books I have encountered.
It was mentally envigorating to compare my organization to a best-in-class organization. We are restructuring our annual review process, and I specifically enjoyed those chapters. I'm not in HR, but I've always been fascinated by what makes people work and act the way they do.
An excellent look at how Google applies their way of working to human resources, or in their parlance, People Operations. As a 10 year veteran of HR at two big companies, I can honestly say Google's approach is a lot more than a departmental name change. Laszlo Bock breaks down a thorough set of rules that would serve as a strong framework for anyone looking to reinvent their People function.
For a management book this is very well written. It has some very workable solutions for company culture and HR. I would put is as a must read for anyone who is high up in a company's management team and deals with People.
Not really useful for folks who are not in that role.
Not really useful for folks who are not in that role.