Former Google CEO and now chairman Eric Schmidt, along with Jonathan Rosenberg, an adviser to current Google CEO Larry Page, have opened up about the biggest lessons they've learned in a book called "How Google Works."
Schmidt also spoke in front of a group of hardware engineers at Native Instruments in Berlin, focusing on what kind of problems the world's current tech companies are facing.
"We were brought up using computers -- machines that sat on our desks, and, if we were lucky, on our laps," said Schmidt in his speech. "But when I look at my children and grandson, their world is entirely different. It's all mobile, and they spend most of their time on one of many apps downloaded on their phone. In fact, seven out of every eight minutes of mobile phone usage is spent within apps. And the most popular app in the world -- including in Europe -- is ... Facebook, a company which now describes itself as 'the onramp to the Internet.' "
During his speech Schmidt also mentioned the fact that he thinks the next Google is already out there and that the Google of tomorrow probably will not look anything like the Google of today.
"Someone, somewhere in a garage is gunning for us. I know, because not long ago we were in that garage. Change comes from where you least expect it... The next Google won't do what Google does, just as Google didn't do what AOL did," Schmidt continued.
The book, on the other hand, goes much more in-depth, giving insights on how Google finds its employees. According to the book it is important for the company to find a mixture of liberal arts-focused people as well as hard science-people. While Google does look for someone who is intelligent, it also looks for someone curious, willing to learn and who has leadership skills.
Not only that, but the book says that hiring is the most important thing a company can do.
"Never forget that hiring is the most important thing you do. People say this, but then they delegate hiring to recruiters. Everyone -- EVERYONE! -- should invest time in hiring," say Schmidt and Rosenberg in the book.
The book continues on to say that good ideas can come from anywhere. Because of that it is important that everyone in a company share their ideas. Individuals and small teams can have a huge impact on a company.
Google, of course, shows that it is willing to think outside of the box with Google X, which is in reality a relatively small team. From Google X, however, we have seen things like Google Glass, Project Ara modular smartphones and even driverless car prototypes.
