Lessons Learned over 20 Years from Google Veteran

Imagine you started your career at a small private company that grew into a global tech giant over 20 years. Think of the lessons learned! I enjoyed this post by Alana Karen who spent 20 years at Google and listed her top takeaways here. Her best points:

1. Careers are long: 30-50 years! Know “your reputation follows you the whole time. Make it count.” Also accept in that length of time, things will go sideways, so keep your perspective: “We can afford some patience when this week’s or next month’s project goes sideways.”
2. Know that everyone wants to be promoted All. The. Time. “Get used to it and constantly invest in your people.” I think managers should take this to heart, and not get annoyed and try to hire people earlier in their trajectory (because those folks also want to get promoted and learn new things all the time!).
3. Sexy projects can flame out, so “protect your heart.”
4. Unsexy work lasts forever. That’s legal work, no? Find your niche and keep finding interesting problems for job stability and marketability.
5. Win people over with respect, but for the 5% tough nuts to crack, figure out who they like and route everything through those favorites. (This is a good one!)
6. Show respect to all people, and recognize their value. It’s ok not to give everyone what they want as long as you listen and show respect. (Another gem!)