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Hot Take: Google has a company strategy, not a product strategy

Summary

This article discusses Google's company strategy, which is to hire as many talented and smart people as possible and invest in them, with the expectation that most of the projects they work on will fail. It contrasts this with Microsoft's product strategy, which is top-down, with pre-approved projects and plans. The article also looks at the cost of Google's company strategy, which is that employees and users often end up investing time and effort in projects that are ultimately not successful. The author argues that having a product strategy helps to avoid this kind of waste, and encourages people to work on projects that make a difference.

Q&As

What is Google's company strategy?
Google's company strategy is "Hire all the smart people."

How does Google's company strategy differ from Microsoft's?
At Microsoft, product leaders had a strong conviction of what it would take to succeed and created strategy documents for each product. At Google, there was no strategy document and leaders encouraged teams to generate their own ideas.

What is the cost of Google's company strategy?
The cost of Google's company strategy is that it comes at the expense of the employees and users, and especially at a cost to medium-scale products.

What is the main point of the article?
The main point of the article is that Google has a company strategy, but not a product strategy, and this lack of product strategy is behind many of Google's short-lived products.

What is the author's opinion on Google's product strategy?
The author's opinion on Google's product strategy is that it is flawed and lacks the processes or experience to get the product strategy right.

AI Comments

👍 This is an incredibly insightful article that sheds light on Google's company strategy and its effects on products. It is well-researched and provides an interesting perspective on how Google operates.

👎 This article is overly long and contains too many details that don't add to the main point. Additionally, the author's opinions are not backed up by any evidence and are unsubstantiated.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about why Google keeps killing products. The author believes it's because Google has a company strategy, but not a product strategy. The article also talks about how Microsoft's product strategy is different from Google's.

Friend: Interesting. What implications does the article have?

Me: Well, the article implies that Google's strategy may come at the expense of employees and users because there is no guarantee that any of the projects will launch. It suggests that Google's lack of product strategy is why many of its products are short-lived. Additionally, the article suggests that other companies need their products to succeed so they are more likely to put more effort into making them successful.

Action items

Technical terms

Company Strategy
A company strategy is a plan of action that outlines how a company will achieve its goals and objectives. It is a long-term plan that outlines the company's vision and mission, and how it will use its resources to achieve its goals.
Product Strategy
A product strategy is a plan of action that outlines how a company will develop, market, and sell its products or services. It is a long-term plan that outlines the company's vision and mission, and how it will use its resources to achieve its goals.
OKRs
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is a goal-setting system used by companies to set and track progress towards their goals. It is a framework that helps companies define and measure progress towards their goals.
20% Time
20% time is a concept popularized by Google, which allows employees to spend 20% of their time working on projects of their own choosing. This allows employees to explore their own ideas and develop new products or services.
1% Experiment
A 1% experiment is a concept popularized by Google, which allows employees to spend 1% of their time working on projects of their own choosing. This allows employees to explore their own ideas and develop new products or services.

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