Learning from the Google Way

At Katoka we love breakfast functions with inspirational speakers!

Yesterday AIM NSW hosted Google Australia’s Head of Technology Tony Keusgen to talk about creating a culture of innovation and how Google has gone about it.   In setting up the need for innovation, Keusgen explained that 90% of Google’s products are free for consumers, and as a result, they’re under constant pressure to innovate.

So as a known leader of innovation what has Google learned along the way?

According to Keusgen there are 10 things Google know to be true and these are things that drive activity and are used to determine if an idea is worth taking to the next level of thinking.  From our perspective we were really excited to see that number one on the list was… “Focus on the customer and all else will follow”

By engaging with users, getting feedback (and not just annecdotal comments) and continuously refining offerings Google has managed to get hundreds of ideas to market in their relatively short, 13 year history.  By focusing on the customer, they’ve rocketed up the Interbrand global best brand list, coming from 7th place in 2009 to 4th in 2010, behind brand stalwarts Coca-Cola, IBM and Microsoft.

Not only that, but they’ve turned their company and brand name into a verb!

But back to the 10 things Google knows to be true:

1. Focus on the customer and all else will follow
2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well
3. Fast is better than slow
4. Democracy on the web works
5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer
6. You can make money without doing evil
7. There’s always more information out there
8. The need for information crosses all boundaries
9. You don’t need a suit to be serious
10. Great just isn’t good enough

So looking down this list, how many things have you built into your business?  What opportunities do you see?