Dear Google,
Now that Google has assembled a prodigious brain trust, it needs to attract equally talented leaders. This is made more necessary by Google not forcing engineers into management. I have had the pleasure of working with a couple of engineers turned manager; they were “screamers” for the most part. Does stress make them deaf? Luckily for you, dear Google, there is a builder of leaders, the U. S. Service Academies.
While MIT and Standford seek true geniuses, the Academies seek well rounded, intelligent leaders. Stanford turns out graduates who invent fantastic algorithms, the Academies turn out leaders who maintain multi-million dollar weapon systems, fly the space shuttle and more importantly, lead the troops. Google needs both kinds of people.
So where is the Google Service Academy Recruiter? According to LinkedIn, my classmate Joe Wallis appears to be doing a stellar job for the folks up in Redmond. Natch. Every Summer a new batch of junior officers complete their five year military requirement and set off for the private sector. Nine years of military leadership training is a nice foundation for a young executive.
Leadership is recursive, be the leader you want to follow. Software engineers are creative people like musicians and artists. They all rely upon “the muse” for truly inspirational work and the muse is elusive. I lead creative people with the carrot and stick method, to coax the muse to come to work. Nobody likes to be screamed at and I have never seen screaming make a situation better. “Not letting down the team” is the number one motivational factor, in war and peace.
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