Tag Archives: eric schmidt

For innovation: More prototypes, less powerpoints

in entrepreneurship, Innovation, Leadership

rapid prototyping innovationRadically better products don’t stand on the shoulder of giants, but on the shoulders of lots of iterations. The basis for success then, and for continual product excellence, is speed. – Eric Schmidt

Indeed. Scrappy startups are known for acting with speed and conviction, while established organizations are slow and risk averse. When implemented well, speed and surprise are the ultimate equalizers. To achieve surprise, you need an unexpected idea first. Second, you need to have the ability to execute that idea. Third, you need to decide when and how to execute the idea.

It is at the moment of making the decision where most established organizations fail. Why? Because most large organizations don’t empower their employees to make decisions.…

The litmus test for innovation leadership

in Innovation, Leadership

People are the biggest barrier to innovation. Be it the executive who dominates every conversation, the one that talks but doesn’t walk the talk or the one that kills all ideas just because it’s not in his/her best interest. Unfortunately that’s the sad truth about how innovation dies in large organizations; there are people who kill innovation.…

The question Google asks itself to create the future and avoid irrelevance

in Innovation, Leadership, Strategy

How Google Works by Eric SchmidtHow does Google do it?

I just finished reading How Google Works, a tell all book by Eric Schmidt’s and Jonathan Rosenberg about their experience working at the innovation powerhouse. It’s a quick read, and much of the material covered, such as how Google manages, makes decisions, innovates and hires, have been well covered in other Google books as well as in the tech media.…

Get a coach to give you perspective

in Wisdom

download Karma, Confessions and Holi

The Hit ipod DOA: Dead or Alive dvd

One thing people are never good at is seeing themselves as others see them.

Here’s a great piece of advice from Google CEO Eric Schmidt:

The advice that sticks out I got from John Doerr, who in 2001 said, "My advice to you is to have a coach." The coach he said I should have is Bill Campbell. I initially resented the advice, because after all, I was a CEO. I was pretty experienced. Why would I need a coach? Am I doing something wrong? My argument was, How could a coach advise me if I’m the best person in the world at this? But that’s not what a coach does. The coach doesn’t have to play the sport as well as you do. They have to watch you and get you to be your best. In the business context a coach is not a repetitious coach. A coach is somebody who looks at something with another set of eyes, describes it to you in [his] words, and discusses how to approach the problem.

 

Watch the rest of the from Fortune for more useful insights.

Not as a Stranger buy

WALL-E the movie