by Bernard Girard. Can a small start-up company sustain its entrepreneurial spirit? Google, a relatively young organization valued at $100 billion, has become so popular that its name has become a verb for searching the Internet. Girard, a French management consultant, presents interesting information about Google's unconventional employee and management practices. He describes how job applicants are rigorously tested for innovation and creativity and how Google's three leaders, Brin, Page, and Schmidt, have nurtured a working environment that takes the best from human nature and competition. Giving employees 20 percent of their time to create new products and encouraging small team collaboration have resulted in a dramatically expanded service portfolio. Applying its motto, "Don't be evil," Google has shaped its practices to encourage and recognize innovation. Girard demonstrates how similar management principles can be applied in other organizations. The author writes colloquially, frequently comparing Google's and Microsoft's practices. Chapter-by-chapter source notes. See related, Janet Lowe's Google Speaks (CH, Sep'09, 47-0371), Virginia Scott's Google (CH, Apr'09, 46-4547), and John Battelle's The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture. --Choice
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