Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead

by Laszlo Bock

Ten steps to transform your team and your workplace

you do believe they’re good, then as an entrepreneur, team member, team leader, manager, or CEO, you should act in a way that’s consistent with your beliefs.

If people are good, they should be free.

These control structures are an admission that people can’t be trusted.

The question is not what management system is required to change the nature of man, but rather what is required to change the nature of work.

The “high-freedom” extreme is based on liberty, where employees are treated with dignity and given a voice in how the company evolves.

Give your work meaning. Trust your people. Hire only people who are better than you. Don’t confuse development with managing performance. Focus on the two tails. Be frugal and generous. Pay unfairly. Nudge. Manage the rising expectations. Enjoy! And then go back to No. 1 and start again.

And if you are part of a team, make this plea to your boss: Give me a chance. Help me understand what your goals are, and let me figure out how to achieve them.

A bad hire is toxic, not only destroying their own performance, but also dragging down the performance, morale, and energy of those around them.

The proof that you are hiring well is that nine out of ten new hires are better than you are.

Save your big checks for the times when your people are most in need, the moments of greatest tragedy and joy.

All of these efforts support one another, and together create an organization that is creative, fun, hardworking, and highly productive. If you believe people are good, then live your beliefs through your work.

WORK RULES Give your work meaning. Trust your people. Hire only people who are better than you. Don’t confuse development with managing performance. Focus on the two tails. Be frugal and generous. Pay unfairly. Nudge. Manage the rising expectations.

Enjoy! And then go back to No. 1 and start again.

As you think about creating your own french fry moments, keep in mind that they are thankless. You rarely get praised for avoiding a problem. It’s why in politics you can never win points by arguing “But the recession would have been so much worse if not for my policies!” But you’ll know, and your team will know. And your company will run better. And people will be happier.

People with higher emotional intelligence also tend to be more self-aware, and hence less arrogant.

Each one is a gifted problem solver. Each has a dose of intellectual humility, which makes them open to the possibilities that they could be wrong and always have more to learn. And each is tremendously conscientious, caring deeply about Googlers and the company.