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Google’s “20% time,” which brought you Gmail and AdSense, is now as good as dead

(qz.com)
581 points antr | 1 comments | 16 Aug 13 12:09 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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hvs ◴[16 Aug 13 13:17 UTC] No.6223772[source]▶
Six months after he took the reins, Page announced that Google would adopt a “more wood behind fewer arrows” strategy that would put more of Google’s resources and employees behind a smaller number of projects.

There's nothing more soul-crushing for an organization than a board of directors.

replies(1): >>6223846 #
mattzito ◴[16 Aug 13 13:29 UTC] No.6223846[source]▶
I think it's not unreasonable for senior management at a company to say, "Geez, you know, we have our fingers in too many pies". Sometimes their logic is sound - they're distractions, they're consuming resources that could be used on core business ideas, we can shift innovation to a focused group of our core innovators. And sometimes it's not sound - it's purely about the dollars and sense.

But to argue that the board of directors is what's soul crushing about an organization seems odd to me.

replies(2): >>6224297 #>>6224775 #
1. hvs ◴[16 Aug 13 15:55 UTC] No.6224775[source]▶
My point is that they tend to be penny-wise and pound-foolish. Killing an idea like 20% time because it'll save money in the short term while destroying a culture of innovation that can lead to gains in the future is precisely what I meant by "soul crushing."