Google looks to fast-track employee ideas
Google is looking for ways to make sure its engineers have ways to get their ideas up the food chain before they take them somewhere else.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google has begun to hold "innovation reviews," where employees can pitch their bosses on their latest idea or product, who then in turn take the idea before Google's ruling triumvirate of CEO Eric Schmidt and co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. It's part of an effort to make sure the ideas conceived in a Google employee's famous "20 percent time" have a chance to make it out of the cubicle.
Google is growing up. No longer a scrappy start-up where ideas could float up to top executives over lunch in the cafeteria, Google is being forced to adapt to life as a big corporation with structure and processes as seen by initiatives such as this one.
It's also grappling with the notion that it's no longer the automatic destination for Silicon Valley's most skilled engineers and marketers who are looking to do cool work and get rich. Companies like Facebook have lots of ex-Google employees within their ranks, and start-ups through the Valley are headed by those with a stint at Google on their resume.
However, if Googlers get the sense that their budding ideas and projects could be treated the same way as the ideas of the brothers Rasmussen--the developers of Google Wave who received a personal blessing from Brin to start their project--perhaps they will be more likely to stay. Google is already trying to identify employees who are likely to leave in hopes of reaching out to them before they head out the door.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
Higher ups should review ALL ideas.. maybe spend 10% of their time during the week.. at least to once over the ideas. There should be more than one higher up reviewing all ideas... make it short - a quick title and paragraph to skim through.
Having a formal review process without a higher up involved will shoot down a lot of things that might make it.
- by MMcCubbing June 18, 2009 9:20 PM PDT
- I am worried that a formal review process may kill a lot of valuable ideas, but also hopeful that Google can conceive of a way of doing it that allows every idea a fair chance.
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