Corporate Innovation

There is a cycle of corporate popularity.  Companies like Microsoft and Google have experienced great popularity as they grew and then hit a certain ‘acceptance plateau’.  Both are still profitable companies, of course, but with great size, comes great scrutiny.  I’ve become somewhat skeptical of Microsoft these days- not because I think its an evil company, but because I see resistance to a new way of doing business. 

Google was founded on the idea of ‘Don’t be Evil’- essentially, ‘Don’t become a Microsoft’. And Google has enjoyed several years of unabashed love from everyone.  However, now that Google has it’s hands in so many different areas (biomedical, alternative fuel sources, digital libraries, etc…) the power they can wield is too great to leave alone.  People are beginning to question their motives, wonder why they need access to so much information.  Some have even called Google ‘Big Brother’. 

I think the Google way is the new way of doing business.  When Google was founded, Sergei Brin and Larry Page didn’t have a great way to make money.  What they had was a great way to search for information on the web- with absolutely no idea of how the money would come.  They secured several million dollars in venture capital with just the idea of making the best web search tool available.  Obviously the investments paid off when a money making element was added- eventually.  The idea that we can focus mainly on the quality of the product or service rather than the profit point is refreshing.  If you think about it, almost no business out there is really about just making money- everyone provides a product or service that is traded for $.  However, we hear more about the cash investors want in the short term rather than how you can build a company that can pay off even bigger in the long term. 

I like the idea that a product or service provides maximum impact and becomes the main focus of our efforts.  If we take care of the goose, the golden eggs will surely come rolling in….