The Leadership Profile on Larry Page
All the success stories have something in common – they inspire and can even add wings, they teach that hard work will pay off eventually in popularity and high profits. However, every story of a successful leader has a unique catching feature. The feature which impresses most in biography of Larry Page is his abiding belief in eternal development and innovations. With all the greatest inventions made under his leadership he still says: “We're really only at 1% of what is possible, and maybe even less than that” (Kovach and Smith). This ability of him to see and explore new opportunities has changed not only his life, but life of many people, enjoying his company’s services.
One of the brightest computer wizards, Larry Page was born in East Lansing, Michigan on March 26th, 1973 (“Larry Page Biography”). His upbringing left no doubt for his field of interest and future occupation: both of his parents were involved in computer programming, his father was even considered one of the pioneers in computer science. Computer books and journals were always available in the house, just like computer hardware, and Larry took advantage of it reading avidly and dismantling various equipment. His interest for dismantling things to see how they work was never suppressed by his parents, so these “child’s plays” gave development to his real passion for inventions and innovations.
Larry finished East Lansing high school. He enrolled at Michigan University, where he got his first bachelor’s degree in computer engineering with honors. Further on he continued education at Stanford University and this was the place where his first significant inventions have been made. Larry was lucky to meet in Stanford his “soul mate” Sergey Brin. Together they worked on web search mechanism and developed a revolutionary Page Rank technology, which ranked the quality of each web page using a complex calculation of link structure. This technology formed the basis for Google search, and the same name company was founded by Page and Brin in 1998 (“Larry Page Biography”).
The following story of the company development cannot be imagined without evolution of Larry Page, his transformation from introvert type researcher to a leader of huge corporation. His phenomena makes people ask themselves “What would Larry do?” when evaluating a challenging business decision, and his leadership style is claimed to be the key for top performing team creation. Let us consider what business and people management principles constitute this “Larry Page leadership style” and how does it influence Google development.
Talking about business decisions, Larry has always had a clear understanding of the company mission, and this is a rare case when mission is not just nice-sounding words, but a real strategy, confirmed by business actions. Google’s mission never changed since the company foundation. It states: “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” (“About Google.”). It should be noted, that apart from high-level technologies which improve every day, Larry ensures effectiveness of Google search by keeping its design scarce and free of advertisements, in spite of enormous missed profits. Accessibility of information organized in a Google way was reached by acquisition of Android, which opened the access of Google from anywhere to smartphone consumers.
A devoted researcher by nature, Larry supports the most audacious and crazy ideas of his team and urges employees to believe in these ideas. He thinks that if the idea is not “crazy” - it is not competitive as it can be generated by others (Elmer). He encourages team to tackle unique projects even if they do not promise quick profits, as he believes that “they could really change the world” (Elmer). This is the essence of Larry’ passion for innovations – he believes that he can change the world dramatically and the previous projects and achievements are the minor part of his abilities.
Realization of outstanding ideas requires recruiting and retention of outstanding minds. The company recruitment policy is aimed at attracting only A-class professionals, never trying to save costs on talents. Remembering that universities is a source of fresh ideas and uncluttered minds, Larry has established close relationships with universities and high schools. He himself often makes speeches at faculties which inspire students to work in his team. Moreover, Larry insists in taking part in recruitment process to invite brilliant minds to join his team.
After selecting the best of the best, the company’s policy is to offer hassle-free work environment. Larry’s sure that in order to get the best outcome of employees’ work, an employer should release their thoughts from all extraneous cares. Therefore the Google office provides all possible conveniences – from laundries to relax rooms.
Although recruitment process in Google is rather structured, Larry tries to avoid bureaucracy as much as it is possible in a 26-thousand employees corporation. He cultivates democratic leadership style and nimble management approach and these are his undisputable competitive advantages. As far as Larry himself is involved in many decision-making processes, he asks his staff to update him on projects in maximum 60 words. This way of work doesn’t only save time but teaches employees to be concise and structured in order to compel.
Currently Larry Page takes position of Google CEO. In this role he inspires employees, helps them identify choices and solve problems, engages them to make decisions and become autonomous in their projects. Strong leadership skills of Larry Page make people commit few more years to his company even if they are mature enough for their own enterprise. Many of his first hires are still with him, as executives of critical business divisions.
It is undisputable that behind every successful enterprise there is a leader which takes it more than just business. Larry Page became such a figure for Google. Although “Google” has become a synonym of a “quick search in web on anything in the world” , the company now is far from only a search technology provider. It offers a lot of additional services and works on providing even more. The reason is that Larry Page prefers to invests in his employees’ creative ideas, instead of doing the same thing repeatedly. This is what keeps him and his company growing continuously, and this is, I believe, the secret of his success.
Works Cited
“About Google.” Google.com. n.p, n.d., Web. 19 April 2016.
Elmer V. “What would Larry Page do? Leadership lessons from Google's doyen”. Fortune. n.p.18 April 2011. Web. 15 April 2016.
Kovach S., Smith K. “Larry Page Surprises Crowd With Candid Q&A Session Following Google's Developer Keynote” Business Insider. n.p.,15 May 2013. Web. 19 April 2016.
“Larry Page Biography”. The Biography.com. A&E Television Networks. n.d. Web. 19 April 2016.
Manimala M. “Distributed leadership at Google: Lessons from the billion-dollar brand”. Ivey Business Journal. n.p. June 2013. Web. 15 April 2016.
