Johan Segergren, Google: Fostering creativity and innovation internally

Technology companies are compelled to innovate. Typically, time is the only hurdle before a competitor emerges and surpasses the incumbent. Segergren spoke about Google’s response to this reality, as it strives to foster innovation and maintain its market-leading position. Responses include:
  • Innovation, not instant perfection (fast, iterative development cycles)
  • Share everything you can (small teams, high levels of transparency)
  • You're brilliant, we're hiring (set the bar high, resist "good enough")
  • A license to pursue dreams (personal projects, 20% of your time)
  • Ideas come from anywhere (anywhere, anytime, top-down, bottom-up)
  • Fuel intuition with insights (data beats opinion, test constantly)
  • Creativity loves constraints (set clear boundaries for exploration)
  • Never fail to fail (continuous innovation failures failure)
  • Focus on users, not competition (innovations start with user experience)

Reflecting on these responses, the common linking threads are culture and passion. This is refreshing. While Google is well beyond the tipping point, the responses give hope for the rest of us. They mean any company or any group can innovate and sustain innovation—if it wants to.