Thirteen Years

Some reflections from thirteen years at Google.

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Pillars And Governance Structures

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The Point of a Strategy

The only useful strategy is one that reduces risks.

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Promise Fatigue

Setting low but realistic expectations is better than setting high but unrealistic ones.

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Sometimes It's the Interviewers Who Suck

I’ve done hundreds of interviews. I’ve also served in numerous hiring committees over the years. Tech companies tend to have cultures built around tech people interviewing other tech people, typically in what is not-so-affectionately known as the “Tech interview.” This is good because candidates would be evaluated based on their actual skills instead of keywords in their resume. Interviewers are in effect choosing their future coworkers which makes in interview serve the interest of both the interviewer and the interviewee.

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Ten Years

It’s been ten years since I started at Google. The work anniversary fell on 6th of December. Ten years ago my wife and I made our way to Mountain View for my orientation; all excited for a brand new chapter in our lives. After spending a week in Mountain View / Palo Alto we both decided that California was not for us. But that’s beside the point. I was elated. This was pretty much everything I dreamt of as a kid growing up in Sri Lanka.

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