Personal and Professional Development at Google and Beyond

Over the course of the past year, my career goals and aspirations have changed greatly. Below, I will outline what I have learned and how my skills and experience have evolved using the GROW model.

When embarking upon the MA in Cultural and Creative Industries and subsequent internship project, I thought I was through with large corporations. I had been a publicist at major record labels including Virgin Records and Universal Motown Records for over 5 years, and was completely disenfranchised with the music industry as well as the affective labour processes that are ever present in the CCIs. Thus, my original goal was to move away from larger companies to smaller, independent marketing firms that were forward-thinking. Companies that specialized in online promotions and took social networking seriously. However, when an internship opportunity in Google’s marketing department arose, I knew I couldn’t pass up the chance to work for a company with such an amazing reputation for creative and empowering working environments. Furthermore, since the internship was in events, I knew I would be able to apply my previous skills and experience to the position. What followed was a complete transformation which has lead to my current career path.

GOALS

Following my graduation this winter from King’s College, I hope to secure a full time position in the Google UK Events Department where I can further my event production skills and build upon my quite extensive background in entertainment. I would like to specialize in international event production and also consult the department on entertainment for all Google events. My current goal is to stay in the UK, however if there is not a position available here I would also consider applying for events positions at Google in New York and California. My ultimate goal after 3-5 years at Google is to switch to a role in music events production, ideally for a company such as The Grammys, MTV or the American Music Awards. This goal will allow me to combine my large-scale event production skills with my passion for and connections to the music industry.

REALITY

The following factors will help to make my goals a reality:

- Management of high profile Google events including: Google @ Cannes Lions Festival, The Summit Against Violent Extremism, Large Agency and Advertiser Marketing Off-Site, YouTube Next Up Creator Camp, Vint Cerf Opinion Formers Dinner, YouTube Video Advisory Board, Berline Privacy Conference.
- Refined skills in organization and detail, management of external agencies and entertainment best practices.
- Meeting with HR recruiter to consult my CV and discuss conversion at the end of my internship in November.
- Strong background in PR and artist management which is applicable to events management.
- Proven connections in the world of events, from talent to agencies to creative executives.
- Awards at Google: Peer Bonus for work on Google @ Cannes Lions, Peer Bonus for work on LAAM Off Site, Platinum Award Spot Bonus for work on Google @ Cannes Lions.

OPTIONS

While my goal is to remain at Google for at least 2 years in order to learn from and work with what I would argue is the best and brightest team of employees in the world, I know from experience to always keep my options open. I plan to work hard at the conversion process here at Google but also to look into other companies with a twofold approach. Firstly, I will look into event positions at other large technology companies here in London - including Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo and Twitter. I will also look into positions at large event agencies - from bigger companies such as Brandfuel and Flourish to independent agencies like Benguela and Design Scene. It is also possible that I will need to look for jobs in New York City, where I can capitalize upon my previous connections and networks.

WAY FORWARD

Firstly, I have extended my internship at Google through the end of November so I am present at the company. This also speaks to my ability to impress my manager and is noted in my HR profile. I have scheduled a second meeting with my manager and the Human Resources recruiter for September 21st to discuss the next steps in conversion. When applying for conversion, I will need to supply four recommendations from staff members. Over the next month I plan to collect these from the most senior people I have worked with in order to further my chances. Also, I will compile a working document of projects that I have completed, the skills needed, and any awards given in relation to that project. All of these will help to strengthen my case for conversion here at Google in January.
            In addition, I will begin outreach to my contacts at external London agencies in October. Because I cannot be hired until I have a post-study work visa, I will not be able to apply for jobs until January. However, it is important to network well in advance and meet with people who may have positions becoming available in the New Year. Lastly, when I return home in December I will set up meetings with former bosses and contacts in the music industry in order to network my way to contacts at NYC-based event agencies.

With a truly immersive and challenging full-time 6-month internship at Google, I feel that I have cemented my career path for the next five years. I have set realistic and attainable goals while leaving myself plenty of options. The next few months will prove to be hard work, but I’m confident I can secure a full time position at Google upon graduation from the King’s College MA CCI Program.

Internal Organization and Power Relations at Google

You Can Be Serious Without a Suit (Or Can You?)

Over the past 20 years in the UK, the US, and elsewhere there has been major growth in what Andy Pratt defines as the Cultural and Creative Industries - Film, Music, Television, Fashion, Technology and other related fields that contribute to the ‘knowledge economy’ as outlined by Peter Drucker (Hesmondhalgh and Pratt 2005; Drucker 2002). In turn, these countries have seen an economic shift to what Richard Florida defines as a ‘Creative Economy’ rooted in three important institutional changes that make up the ‘social structure of creativity’. These include; new economic systems (specifically venture capitalism) that create opportunities for technical innovations and entrepreneurship, new models of actual labour whereby work is less physical and based on highly developed skills and talent, and the rise of the ‘social & cultural milieu’ - the support and encouragement by society to further the production of creative goods (Florida, 2002). Without these fundamental shifts in the economic structure, an organization such as Google, one of the very start-ups to which Florida refers, would never have gained the initial support and financial backing that paved the way for the company to flourish and grow into the iconic giant we know today.

Having interned at Google for over 4 months, I can say with steady confidence that I know the internal structure and organization of the company very well. Although Google now employs thousands of people in hundreds of offices across the world, the company prides itself on promoting the culture and structure of the startup that was founded in 1998. Rooted in the concept of what Chris Bilton refers to as ‘soft control’, Google’s focus is on horizontally structured, project-based work that reflects one of their ‘ten things’ philosophies: “you can be serious without a suit.” As Bilton describes it:

“In pursuit of creativity, today’s managers are encouraged to reject control and hierarchy in favor of release and individualism...hierarchies are flatter, organizational cultures are self-consciously ‘casual’, and managers have removed their neckties. In this system of creative management or ‘soft control’, managers seek to remove constraints in order to free individual workers to express themselves, to take risks and to challenge conventional thinking. Consequently their employees will, of course, be more productive and inventive.” (Bilton, 2007, pg. 66)

In this paper I will analyze this statement as it relates to the Google culture using examples from my work on the Google @ Cannes Lions Festival event, as well as my general experiences in the office environment.
While the overall organization of Google is hierarchical, projects are run in a very specific way in order to encourage and foster creativity. Hierarchies exist in that departments are well structured.  For example, the UK events team is run by the head of events. The events team is part of the larger marketing team, which is run by the head of UK marketing. The head of UK marketing then reports to the head of Global marketing. Thus, there are people with more senior titles than others, but there is little emphasis on this when creating teams and assigning projects.
The most in-depth experience I’ve had on a project here at Google was our Creative Sandbox event in Cannes. Working closely with the Large Agency and Advertiser Marketing team, we created a cool, fun, free space on the beach at the Cannes Lions festival for media and ad agency executives to enjoy smoothies, wi-fi, and product demos.
Joining the staff in April, I could see Chris Bilton’s concept of ‘soft control’ clearly outlined. Firstly, the project-based organization of the core team was apparent - none of the 4 main members were working on any other projects; their focus was quite one note and they could immerse themselves in the creative process for this event. Secondly, the team was structured horizontally and not vertically. Instead of 3 people from the events department who all reported up a chain of authority, the team consisted of members from across different departments. Marketing, mobile, events, and advertising worked together with no chosen ‘lead’ or ‘manager’ of the project. In meetings, things were run democratically with consideration for peoples’ opinions and ideas. The final aspect of the project was the freedom allowed to the team members to choose which aspects of the event interested them. Roles and responsibilities - i.e. who is in charge of food and beverage, who is in charge of demo areas, who is in charge of design and production - were all assigned based on interest. For myself, I was able to ask to run the entertainment for our VIP party, which included three performances and the overall technical aspects of the evening. I was given time to choose artists and performers that I thought would be a good fit, and had the overall final say on decisions. This freedom to create paired with the laissez-fare structure of the team and project proved to be a great success on site and lead to an impressive final product for Google.

However, Bilton argues that “the discipline and systematic organization required for real creativity (innovation + value; divergent thinking + convergent thinking)” must remain in order for a company to flourish (2007, pg 67). These constraints absolutely exist at Google. From our branding tactics (always use Google’s colors in event design) to our event best practices (create a marketing timeline spreadsheet at the outset of each event), there are certain boundaries in place in the events team which are meant to control the direction of our creativity. Furthermore, while budgets are easier to come by at a huge corporation like Google, the ideals of the thrifty, scrappy start-up are still put into practice when executives approve and delegate event budgets. In the end, it is true that while Google purports to promote a free-flowing, quirky and creative environment, there is an undoubted balance between release and control that must exist for the business to succeed.

Works Cited - Blog and Reports

Works Cited:

Bilton, C. “Managing Creative Work Through Release and Control” (2007). In: Bilton, C, Management and Creativity. Oxford Blackwell Publishing 2007, pp.66-90.

Blair, H. “You’re Only As Good As Your Last Job: The Labour Process and Labour Market in The British Film Industry” (2001). Work Employment and Society, 15:1, 149-169. doi: 10.1177/09500170122118814.

Deuze, M. “Convergence Culture in the Creative Industries” (2007). International Journal of Cultural Studies, 10:2, 243-263. doi: 10.1177/1367877907076793.

Drucker, P. “The Effective Executive” (2002). New York City: Harper Business Essentials.

Florida, R. “The Rise of the Creative Class” (2002). Basic Books.

Hesmondhalgh, D. and Pratt, AC. “Cultural Induustries and Cultural Policy” (2005).
International Journal of Cultural Policy, 1477-2833, Volume 11, Issue 1, Pages 1 – 13.

Jenkins, H. “Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide” (2006). New York University Press.

Toffler, A. “Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth and Violence at the Edge of the 21st Century” (1990). New York: Bantam Books.

Van Dijk, J. “The Network Society: Social Aspects of New Media” (2006). Sage.

Farewell For Now

This will be my last week at Google until September 7th, when I will commence my internship through the end of January and hopefully be hired full time then! After a meeting with HR, it made the most sense to take a hiatus while I finish my dissertation and recharge for the next steps.

Reflecting upon my time here, I have to say I've learned more than I thought I would. While I did have some event skills under my belt when I began, joining a team of extremely experienced event planners was a great way to immerse myself in the process and production aspect of the job. Moreover, working for Google has been a humbling and eye-opening experience in two ways.

Firstly, it has re-fueled and re-charged my love of the CCIs. After working in PR for so long and experiencing the life that so many creatives lead - the sense of precarity, low pay for long hours, bulemic work patterns - I was extremely disenfranchised with the Cultural and Creative Industries. Now I see that there are companies and sectors that get it right, and Google is one of them.

Secondly, it has been inspiring to work for a place so creatively and independently driven. When an intern has an idea in a meeting, everyone pays attention. When a lead on a project is having trouble, a member of the team steps in and takes over. The working culture and horizontal organizational structure is truly the defining character of Google, and I've grown to love and appreciate the idealism that it fosters. 

The LAAM Off-Site

Two weeks ago I was given my own event to organize, which is a great compliment and has been a lot of fun. I've been working with the Large Agency and Advertiser Marketing (LAAM) on their EMEA Off-Site. Basically, a chance for the entire team from across Europe, the Middle East and Asia to come together and discuss best practices, goals, and forecasts for Q4 and into 2012.

I thought this would be a good time to walk you through a Google event from start to finish. Because this is only 20-30 people and 2 days, its only taken me about 2 weeks. But you can imagine the time and man power it takes to put together an event such as Cannes.

Here are the phases of planning:

1. Meet with department head to get list of people to be invited and overall needs of the project
2. Send an email to the team to get estimated number of attendees
3. Look into venues in central London - visit sites, get rates, accessibility, tech availability, food and beverage menus and pricing and photos. Compile all info into a document.
4. Meet with department head to go over the document and choose the venue.
5. Confirm venue with credit card details and deposit.
6. Meet with department head to create agenda for two days - timing of welcome dinner, arrivals, breakfast, daytime sessions, lunch, afternoon team building activity and event dinner.
7. Look into team-building activities. Google is always looking for new and exciting ideas. I looked into several event planning companies. Eventually, I decided to create my own activity with the team at Wahaca Soho (pictured above). I felt that their style and Googley decor would be a perfect fit!
8. Propose team-building events to department head and make final decision.
10. Find appropriate restaurants with capacity for 30 people for Monday welcome dinner and Tuesday evening dinner.
11. Confirm details and numbers with each of the venues.
12. Compile final budget for approval.
13. Come up with ice-breaker suggestions
14. Assemble a Project Handbook which you can view here with all details!

These are very simplified steps, but as you can see even with a small number of people, the details become extremely important and can truly make or break an event.

In the end, this event was very successful and the team gave me great feedback. Unfortunately I was on holiday and was unable to attend!

Networking - The Key to Success

On Monday I was assigned a new project called the YouTube NextUp Creator Camp. The camp will be a 5-day intensive production program designed for 25 winners of YouTube's Next UP contest which will be held over the next month in order to find the best and most creative YouTubers across Europe. We will then bring them to London to produce their own videos with professional editors and filmmakers.

I was brought onto the project because of my experience in the music industry and for the sole purpose of finding appropriate studio space for the videos to be shot. I found it extremely interesting that it was automatically assumed that I would have contacts at studio locations because of my music background. I never worked on music video sets or productions and certainly have no experience or direct contacts at locations within London.

This is a clear example of the importance of strong networking skills and the ability to maintain relationships for a long period of time. My team here at Google expects a lot from me, and they expect that from my contacts in PR in the music industry, I would be able to network my way to finding some studio spaces in London. It proved to be a rather long network of referral after referral from an old PR rep at Universal in the NY offices, to a video department rep at Universal in NYC, to a video department rep at Universal in London, to a locations scout at LocationWorks in London. Finally, I met with Andy from Locationworks and scouted some great venues.

This is a lesson learned that keeping in touch with contacts from former companies is ALWAYS a great idea, and that pushing boundaries to make connections and network is a vital part of success in the CCIs!

Summit Against Violent Extremism

I've just returned to London from Dublin and the Summit Against Violent Extremism. After 3 days of inspiring and groundbreaking conversation from former terrorists, gang members, skin heads and violent extremists paired together with talks from survivors of violence and forward thinking entrepreneurs, I am exhausted and astounded by what I've witnessed. The mother whose daughter was killed on one of the planes that flew into the world trade center on 9/11 on stage engaged in conversation with the mother of one of the terrorists who planned the attacks. Gil Hicks, a survivor of the 7/7 bombings who lost both legs and was severely injured in the attacks, chairing a conversation between an inner-city gang member, an islamic fundamentalist and a skinhead.

Reflecting upon the conversations and ideas shared has been emotionally taxing. It is difficult to understand unless you speak with these people face to face, just how much they have been through and how far they have come. The major theme that I can draw from the event is the common ground of induction during youth. All of the formers were inducted into their respective former organizations at an early age - mostly between 13 and 16 years old. Issues of identity, lack of family structure, and a need to belong and fit in were repeatedly touched upon. As a result, the brainstorming sessions focused on legitimate and feasible ideas for youth programs across the globe.

The event was the culmination of Jared Cohen's sapling of an idea that he had when joining Google over a year ago. He was hired to chair the new department 'Google Ideas', and this was his first effort at the company. It is amazing to see how many people jumped on board to make the idea become a reality, especially with the delicate nature of the subject matter. His motto is that Google Ideas is not a think tank, but a think AND do tank. It has meant so much to me to be a part of this event and to help to make something of this nature happen. One of Google's main tennents is 'Don't be Evil' and I believe this summit demonstrates the company's commitment to that statement and to making the world a better place.

A sample of videos from the event is available on at this link - definitely worth a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erSs46hSpsg