It's just a company, a big company getting bigger

My Take on Google’s Ten Rules:

So we have 10 interesting rules here, but are these the best 10 rules, or is Google the only company with 10 rules?

Jeff Barr has an excellent deconstruction of the Businessweek article about Google's Ten Rules for success. He points out that Google's not the only company to hire by committee—and committees have mangled more projects than many individuals and small teams working on pure argumentation.

Likewise, I agree that it is silly to cater to every need the workforce has in order to cloister them in the job; it's the basis for an increasingly disengaged product/service offerings. Sure, it's "cool" to build arcologies today, but the corporate campus has seen its heyday more than a couple times in the past—it's what 's="" cradle"="" by="" kurt="" vonnegut"=""> is about, and it doesn't work out well.

I particularly like Jeff's observation that if the data determines decisions at Google then what's all the fuss about consensus about, because it underscores the growing hypocrisy of the Google's way or the highway approach to business the company is taking.

A few less rules and a lot fewer campus walls suits me better. That folks in the Silicon Valley are getting so comfortable behind walls concerns me.

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