High Performance Rules

Ten Golden Rules of High Performance

1. Hire by committee – make sure recruits talk to their future colleagues.

2. Cater to every need – make it easy, not hard, for people to perform.

3. Pack them in – put people to work close to one another.

4. Make coordination easy – use technology to keep people talking together.

5. Eat your own dog food – make use of the company products.

6. Encourage creativity – allow freedom to come up with new ideas.

7. Strive for consensus – remember that “many are better than few.”

8. Don’t be evil – live tolerance and respect.

9. Data-driven decisions – do the analysis and stay on track.

10. Communicate effectively – hold many stay-in-touch meetings.

I believe that the shifting paradigms that are described early in chapter one are a major component of the focus on new management styles exemplified by Google’s “Ten Golden Rules”. Before changing careers 10 years ago, my husband was a district manager of a well-recognized company. When I discuss with him the challenges I face in managing my team today, I have noticed his approach is much more authoritarian than what I would consider with my staff. I had not realized before my discussions with him and this week’s reading assignment that our differences of opinion are more than differences in our personal styles but instead are indicative of our evolving society. Although my organization has been established much longer than Google, I experience on a daily basis the influences of this new approach. I often introduce strong applicants to members of my team during the interview process, we are considering a change in floor plan that will remove the barriers of enclosed offices in lieu of the open, creativity encouraged by sharing space, we emphasize celebration of the achievement of the smallest goals, I conduct weekly staff meetings to improve communication, and so on with Google’s rules reading like a strategy guide for my company. And I can see the effectiveness of it. It...