Eric Schmidt: Leadership Personified - Essay Example

18 June 2007 Eric Schmidt: Leadership Personified For anyone who uses the Internet on a regular basis, Google is an absolute necessity. Over the past six years since Eric Schmidt became the company's chief executive officer (CEO), the search engine has expanded beyond belief. Some key words on Google bring up more results than others. For instance, "expialidocious" brings up 10 hits, while "Oprah" brings up 37,200,000-all on Oprah Winfrey. It is doubtful at this time that a single word in any language will show "0" hits. What makes Google the most popular search engine on the planet A man who knows exactly how to reach the public; not only that, but how to find out what the public wants and find ways to meet their needs. For those who hope to be leadership material, Eric Schmidt's rise to the top of the leadership ladder is worth studying. Who Is Eric Schmidt Who is this man and how has he managed to become such a successful business leader He didn't do this overnight. Schmidt has been involved in electronics since his graduation from Princeton in 1976, and he presently has a doctorate in computer science. He began in research labs, moved into executive positions with Sun and Novell, and presently is CEO of Google ("Dr. Eric Schmidt"). Schmidt has the credentials to be at the top of his field, but in the business world of the 21st century, more than experience is necessary to meet market expectations. The present qualities that create a good leader can be listed as follows: Taking a global view of business. Collaborating with others outside the business Encouraging innovative ideas and ways to collect information. Putting customer ahead of market share Looking to future Knowing the marketplace According to Dean of Dartmouth Business School, good leaders need a giving spirit, a balanced perspective, self-awareness, and a moral compass (Damos). Most people see the business world, especially in the United States, as reflecting corporate greed, the bottom line, and fierce competition. By looking at current corporate success in a global community, it quickly becomes evident that drastic change has taken place. No one is in a better position to understand this than Eric Schmidt. With the Internet the major source of information, he has to be the information guru, the leader who finds ways to educate other leaders and show by the growth in his company how to establish a strong customer base. In a recent interview for the Financial Times Limited in London, Schmidt said that gathering more personal data was a key way for Google to expand and felt that the company was very early in the total information already available within Google (Daniel & Palmer). The race to accumulate the most comprehensive database of individual information worldwide, has, according to Daniel and Palmer, become the new battleground for search engines. Even as Schmidt looks to the future, he is faced with issues about privacy brought into play by his recent acquisition of DoubleClick, which could build up a detailed picture of someone's behavior by combining its records of web searches with information from DoubleClick's "cookies." Schmidt acknowledges these concerns and has promised to work on technology to reduce them. It is obvious that Schmidt has followed the tenets that create a good leader by his recent election to Apple's board of directors (Apple). Besides the fact that this will benefit both Google and Apple, Apple's brand recognition is connected to innovation and new product development, which will extend to Google. Already, the company has created iGoogle, a personal page for Google users that will bring recognition because of Apple's iPods, iLife, and iTunes. As of April 2007, Google said its profit soared almost 70 per cent in the first quarter. The company met Yahoo's challenge when it introduced its new search platform called Project Panama, which has not had a short-term impact. However, Google keeps moving ahead. Schmidt said in a statement to CNN: "The global growth of our core search and ads business and our focus on building our partnerships drove our strong results in the quarter" (LaMonica, para. 11). A series of partnerships have recently linked Google with eBay, MySpace, MTV, and others (Caplan). According to Schmidt, Caplan notes, this has not been a core part of how the company was being run. Therefore, the partnerships chosen were those that represented different initiatives for long-term collaboration. In a small company, things happen within the company. When things get more established, it is evident that success must be shared. These partnerships have been entered into for a reason, according to Schmidt. Each of them represents a different demographic. For instance, MySpace is the fastest growing site on the Internet. Basically, everybody is moving to MySpace. Each then offers a huge distribution network for Google. Once the company looks ahead, with its 3-year working financial plan, Schmidt says the next step is a 1-year strategic plan. Schmidt believes the company should be run on questions, not answers: What to do with surplus cash How do we make a product produce better content What do we do about various products Microsoft is allegedly offering Out of this, Schmidt says, comes innovation (Caplan). In a 2002 article, Tom Spring of PC World spoke of new search methods being utilized by Google, and the concern was that it was necessary not to do too much too soon. How does the need for customer satisfaction become a financial benefit for the company It's simple. Schmidt says, "Half of Google's revenue comes from selling text-based ads that are placed near search results and are related to the topic of the search. Another half of its revenues come from licensing its search technology to companies like Yahoo" (Spring par. 4), It is clear that Schmidt is a man with a vision. He sees the global view, is willing to form partnerships, take chances, look for innovative methods to expand the business, is focused on the end-users rather than the bottom line, and makes every effort to determine future trends and understand all aspects of the marketplace. Works Cited Apple.com. "Google CEO Eric Schmidt Joins Apple's Board of Directors." 29 August 2006. 18 June 2007. http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2006/aug/29bod.html Caplan, J. "Google's Chief Looks Ahead." 2 October 2006. Time Magazine. 18 June 2007. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1541446,00.html Daniel, C., and Palmer, M. "Google's Goal: to Organize Your Daily Life." 22 May 2007. Financial Times. 18 June 2007. http://www.deanstalk.net/deanstalk/2006/07/this_morning_i_.html Danos, Paul. "Qualities Needed for Leadership." 14 July 2006. Global Foundation for Education. 18 June 2007. http://www.deanstalk.net/deanstalk/2006/07/this_morning_i_.html "Dr. Eric Schmidt, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer." 2007. Google Corporate Information. 18 June 2007. http://www.google.com/corporate/execs.html#eric LaMonica, P.R. "Google Gets Its Groove Back." 20 April 2007. CNNMoney.com. 18 June 2007. http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/19/technology/google_earnings/index.htm Spring, T. "Three Minutes With Google's Eric Schmidt. 30 January 2002. PC World. 18 June 2007. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,81685-page,1/article.html. Read More