Masters of Scale Google's Eric Schmidt — Innovation is managed chaos
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Apr 11, 2023 
Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google and co-founder of Schmidt Futures, shares his insights into managing innovation at Google. He reveals how embracing chaos fuels creativity, illustrating this with the famous '20% time' initiative. Schmidt discusses the importance of constructive conflict in leadership and reflects on decision-making challenges during crises, drawing parallels with aviation. He also humorously highlights the unconventional discoveries in team dynamics, showcasing how diverse skills can lead to groundbreaking innovations.
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Unexpected Roommate
- Eric Schmidt's first day as Google CEO involved an unexpected roommate, Amit, in his small office.
- This led to a discovery about the power of data analytics at Google.
Managing Chaos
- Insubordination and organic idea flow are key to Google's success.
- Managers should manage the chaos, not suppress it, and listen to what emerges.
Novell Crisis and Flying
- Eric Schmidt's first day at Novell revealed financial discrepancies, leading to a crisis.
- He used flying as a distraction and learned about rapid decision-making in high-pressure situations.