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

by Laszlo Bock

One of my hopes in writing this book is that anyone reading it starts thinking of themselves as a founder. Maybe not of an entire company, but the founder of a team, a family, a culture. The fundamental lesson from Google’s experience is that you must first choose whether you want to be a founder or an employee. It’s not a question of literal ownership. It’s a question of attitude. In Larry’s words: “I think about how far we’ve come as companies from those days, where workers had to protect themselves from the company. My job as a leader is to make sure everybody in the company has great opportunities, and that they feel they’re having a meaningful impact and are contributing to the good of society. As a world, we’re doing a better job of that. My goal is for Google to lead, not follow.”36 That’s how a founder thinks. Student or senior executive, being part of an environment where you and those around you will thrive starts with your taking responsibility for that environment. This is true whether or not it’s in your job description and whether or not it’s even permitted. And the greatest founders create room for other founders to build alongside them. One day your team will have an origin story, a founding myth, just like Rome or Oprah or Google. Think about what you want it to be, about what you want to stand for. Think about what stories people will tell about you, your work, your team. Today you have the opportunity to become the architect of that story. To choose whet...