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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
informative
medium-paced
4.7 stars
Excellent book! Absolute must read for all HR (and non-HR!) professionals!
Excellent book! Absolute must read for all HR (and non-HR!) professionals!
I'd been wanting to read this book for the longest time, and after the first few chapters I was unimpressed. Laszlo emphasizes early that his advice is universal and doesn't only apply to tech giants, but coming from a miniature country and working in a field that is short some 15 million workers globally, I could hardly relate to having a byzantine multi layer process of recruitment that spans months and ends up with each candidate being vetted by the CEO. That said, the further into the book I got, the more I found myself jutting down notes and sending samples of paragraphs to colleagues like hey, why the hell don't we do this? I particularly liked the part about building a learning organization, which really hit home the importance of peer education in a large highly specialized workforce. By the time I finished the book, I found myself quoting Laszlo near constantly. Here is one quote I am happy to finish the review with:
"We talk about values. A lot. And we’re daily confronted with new situations that test those values. We are held accountable by employees, our users, our partners, and the world. We aspire to make the right decisions every time, but ultimately we’re an aggregation of fifty thousand people. Sometimes some of those people make mistakes, and sometimes we as leaders make mistakes. We are far from perfect. The test of the company, and of the management style I’m advocating in this book, is not whether it delivers perfection. It’s whether we stay true to our values and continue to do the right thing even when tested. And whether we come through those challenges with a more refined commitment, shared among all Googlers, to our beliefs."
"We talk about values. A lot. And we’re daily confronted with new situations that test those values. We are held accountable by employees, our users, our partners, and the world. We aspire to make the right decisions every time, but ultimately we’re an aggregation of fifty thousand people. Sometimes some of those people make mistakes, and sometimes we as leaders make mistakes. We are far from perfect. The test of the company, and of the management style I’m advocating in this book, is not whether it delivers perfection. It’s whether we stay true to our values and continue to do the right thing even when tested. And whether we come through those challenges with a more refined commitment, shared among all Googlers, to our beliefs."
Reasonably ok and interesting book regarding some of the directions that google have taken , as usual dont cargo cult what is presented. There are some interesting concepts and information presented, but they would be best applied by someone in HR.
Awesome book. Definitely recommended reading for those "in charge," or those thinking of starting a business, or even those of us "peons." :)
Nice to recognize that I work for people who sort of think like this guy. We have to work within the framework of our own company, but I'm lucky!
Nice to recognize that I work for people who sort of think like this guy. We have to work within the framework of our own company, but I'm lucky!
Reminder that I think I would really enjoy working in human capital if it offered the same career trajectory and had the organizational respect of other functions. Maybe it does at Google
Whew! That was an intense business read -- a lot of material to go through.
I found parts of this book very interesting and very useful. And certain sections to be more pragmatic than others and I really identified with them.
I think what you get out of this book is dependent on the obvious of why you are reading it in the first place (do you have a work-related agenda, or is it just interest). If it is the latter, you may find certain parts repetitive or just plain not useful. Also, it depends on your current work situation. I don't work for a traditional workplace, so while a lot of these things seemed great, they wouldn't work for a workplace structured like mine. However, a lot of the lessons and tools are universal or can be at least implemented in some form.
This was definitely an intimate look inside google, and even with the author's warning that this book will probably over-champion google, the fan-girling does grow exhausting. Incorporating more examples and comparisons with other companies could have alleviated some of this.
I would recommend to people looking for HR solutions or looking for better ways to improve their workplace, especially the interpersonal communications.
This feels like a plug for google but there are some good takeaways that can be applied by management.