Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Bock is a director of human resource at Google, though the company itself uses the term people operations. His delivery of his new book is consistently pleasant, engaging, and conversational, as he details the ways in which Google's sometimes quirky culture-including such novelties as free gourmet meals for pet dogs in the cafeteria-contributes to both employee fulfillment and a profitable bottom line. Bock's style does not embody the intense passion and persuasion of the more motivational offerings of the business genre; instead his reading is focused and straightforward. Listeners hoping for an experience to pump them up into a frenzy of inspiration should probably look elsewhere. One very minor oddity of the recording is that extra voices are provided to quote a few women in the narrative, though the practice is inconsistent and seems at odds with the overall presentation. A Hachette/Twelve hardcover. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
As senior vice president of people operations at Google, Bock has access to a wealth of information about tech workers and how they respond to various employment practices. Here he shares his experience with Google's benefits, pay, corporate culture, communications, and a variety of other topics that are commonly thought to be key drivers in employee satisfaction and productivity. The Google he describes is highly data-driven, tracking everything from what will prompt employees to make healthier choices in the company lunchroom to how employees respond to having things tracked. While many smaller workplaces may not find Bock's experimental, data-driven approach to be scalable (though Bock would argue differently), businesses of all sizes will benefit from considering the arguments he makes for how to think about the employee/employer relationship and how to make decisions around what most of us would call human resources policies and practices. VERDICT Capably narrated by the author, this thought--provoking book is worth reading for anyone interested in today's corporate workplace. ["Bock makes a persuasive case for ceding power to individual employees and teams. For visionary managers": LJ 2/15/15 review of the Twelve: Grand Central hc.]-Heather -Malcolm, Bow, WA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The head of "People Operations" at Google discusses how the company grew into a world leader in its field and why economics was not necessarily the primary driver of its development.Bock's account of the company's origin and growth challenges traditional top-down business models based on monetary incentives and bonuses to mobilize and motivate employees in pursuit of corporate goals. As the author tells it, "Googlers" have built a self-replicating culture of continuous innovation and improvement, from the eponymous search engine to Android phones and operating system and self-driving cars. Trust is at the company's core. Each of their highly qualified employees is free to contribute their best and help others solve problems, transparently, with research supported by rigorously tested data. "Inside Google," writes the author, "we don't have a lot of rule books and policy manuals." Nonetheless, Bock offers his own interpretation in the form of 10 work rules that can help transform a workplace into a "high freedom environment." These include giving your own work meaning, focusing on turning overperformers into teachers and working with underachievers to do better, not confusing development with managing performance, and being both frugal and generous. Bock insists that "culture eats strategy for breakfast," and he dismisses the "up or out model of management" associated with former GE head Jack Welchthis scheme rigorously ranks workers annually and dumps the bottom 10 percent. As Bock shows, Google couldn't afford the luxury of wasting one of its largest investments: the associates. Compensation, promotion policy, management practices and performance management are all designed to foster associates' contributions to building a "learning institution." A perfect example is Google, writes the author, which is "twenty five times" more exclusive than Harvard and "profoundly suspicious of power." An intriguing profile of an innovative company that continues to shake up the world. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
