Reflecting on the TC Summit

This past week I was fortunate enough to go to Mountain View, CA for the Global Top Contributors Summit at the Googleplex.  The experience was truly amazing.  I got to meet Teresa C, the Google Docs, Sites and Apps Script Community Manager.  As a TC I am in daily contact with her about Google Docs so it was finally nice to meet her in person.  I also met many other wonderful Google employees.  We got to discuss the products with project managers, engineers and other support team members.  It was truly amazing how interested they were in what we had to say.  There were many situations where we would ask questions or have ideas and they would immediately contact someone to find an answer if they didn't know.  Google is extremely interested in what the users want and this made me extremely excited.  I really wish I could express how amped I am about Google, their mission and their products after going to the TC Summit.  I think they really understand people and how to make products that are always innovative.  I think this will make me be an even better TC.

To all who are reading this I hope you continue to stay with Google products.  I saw things that were truly amazing which proved how innovative Google actually is.

I was also impressed how Google treats their employees.  We all always hear about the things that go on at Google but the perks themselves are not really what impressed me.  Google treats their employees the way they do because they understand how to have productive employees.  If their employees are not being 100% productive then they believe they shouldn't be at work.  When this is the case, Google has provided activities that will help employees get to that 100% productive point.  Many people would think that the Googlers would take advantage of this but they do not.  Googlers are the type of people who know when its time to work and when its time to play.  I truly believe this why Google is so successful.  They pick the right people, put them in the right places, and provide them an environment to be productive, innovative and to explore the craziest ideas. Bureaucracy simply doesn't exist.

Before the TC Summit I was rather annoyed by the amount of complaints I saw from users and put part of the blame on Google.  I thought "Why would Google release a product with all of these bugs?!"  This led to my adoptions of "fixes before features."  But now I get it.  I know exactly why Google releases things knowing full well that it isn't perfect.  So I will be getting rid of the "fixes before features" tag in my signature soon.  However, I think my understand of innovation deserves its own post after a few more days of reflection.

So in the words of Yogi, let us keep Googling!

Cheers!