The Google Caste System

managedcode writes "Google doesn't like to do things traditionally. Right from their IPO, when they dumped Goldman Sachs for secretly trying to deal with their big investor, Kleiner Perkins. Business Week covers the Google Caste System, 'in which business types are second-class citizens to Google's valued code jockeys [..] They deem the corporate development team as underpowered in the company, with engineers and product managers tending to carry more clout than salesmen and dealmakers.' At last a company is shouting at the top of it's voice, engineers make the world."

Comments

ERTW

[Moocowsia]

Its like a giant ERTW being put up there in the face of business. I like it.

Re:How quaint.

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, almost.

I work for google. On Monday I'll work for 7.2 hours and then me and Larry and Page will go out for drinks...

Engineer make the world

[blindcoder]

# make World

Of course we do!

Re:reminds me of the steve balmer speech

[Bellum Aeternus]

this reminds me of when steve balmer made his famous developers speech... "developers developers developers developers..."

... and then he threw a chair at them.

I'm just waiting for...

[Anyd]

Google; get laid. All the other google functions seem to work pretty well. C'mon Google, please?

Engineers and Managers

[Godwin O'Hitler]

A group of engineers and managers attended a conference, travelling by train. The engineers queued up to buy their travel tickets at the station but only one manager joined them. No questions were asked, but the engineers watched studiously as the manager bought just one ticket.

In the train, the engineers took their seats as did all of the managers bar two, who took up sentry positions at each end of the coach. After a while, one of the managers on sentry duty made a sign and he all the other managers headed immediately for one of the toilet cubicles. Two minutes later the ticket inspector arrived, saw the toilet door closed, knocked on the door and said "ticket please", upon which one ticket was duly slid under the door.

The engineers of course understood the ploy immediately and congratulated the managers on their guile and coordination.

Come the return journey, the engineers sent one of their crew to buy just one ticket. Puzzlingly, the managers didn't buy any tickets at all this time. Again the engineers refrained from asking questions and observed events studiously. Everyone climbed aboard the train and once again the managers immediately posted sentries. Sure enough, in due course, one of the managers on sentry duty made a sign upon which the watching engineers immediately crowded into a toilet. Strangely the managers didn't move. But as soon as the door had closed on the engineers, a passenger sitting nearby observed a manager leaving his seat, walking to the toilet, knocking on the door, and asking "ticket please".

Re:Well, I used to think this way too

[Crash Culligan]

[a well known S.V. hardware company Marketing Exec] convinced me that it was a two way street. That there is no shortage of good ideas and products out there, and the ONLY reason some succeed over others is becuase people like him and Sales people make it happen. They sell products that they know aren't quite ready yet (vaporware) because the company needs the revenue. They sell products that they know are inferior to the competition because their Scientists and Engineers made a stupid mistake early on in the product development lifecycle that didn't get caught until too late and the company can't afford to start over.

Basically he convinced me (a seasoned Engineer) that we need them as much as they need us.

In other words, a high-ranking Marketing expert managed to convince you (nay, sell you! ) regarding the importance of marketing experts?

Ladies and gentlemen, suddenly I have an idea how the whole marketers-before-employees meme got started!!

Really?

[Lifewish]

It is entirely bottoms-up

So much for sobriety in the workplace...