Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says His Mentor Asked Him 1 Question Over and Over - and It Changed The Way He Leads

7/3/2021 Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says His Mentor Asked Him 1 Question Over and Over--and It Changed
It Changed the Way He Leads | Inc.com
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Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says His Mentor Asked Him 1

Question Over and Over--and It Changed the Way He
Leads Years ago, Columbia University football coach turned business coach Bill
Campbell taught Pichai to ask himself a pivotal question. Pichai is still asking that
question today.
BY JUSTIN BARISO, AUTHOR, EQ APPLIED @JUSTINJBARISO
Sundar Pichai. Getty Images
As CEO of Google and Alphabet, Sundar Pichai is responsible for making

sure his companies continue to move forward, continue to evolve to keep up
with the demands of millions of users and customers around the world.
https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/google-ceo-sundar-pichai-says-his-mentor-asked-him-1-question-every-week-leader-alphabet-columbia-universi… 1/7
7/3/2021 Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says His Mentor Asked Him 1 Question Over and Over--and It Changed the Way He Leads | Inc.com
That's no easy job. But Pichai once shared with me a single question that helps him to
remember his role. He learned the question from his mentor, former Columbia
University football coach turned business coach Bill Campbell.
Whenever they met, says Pichai, Campbell would ask him:
"What ties did you break this week?"
Campbell wasn't speaking about breaking ties as in cutting off relationships. Rather,
he was teaching Pichai that he needed to break stalemates.
Pichai got the point.
Oftentimes, when an issue makes it to a leader, there are (at least) two good options
available with which to move forward. Both options will have pros and cons, and both
will have their share of supporters. Making a decision could alienate the leader from
half of their team--at least temporarily.
But, as a leader, Pichai's job isn't to keep everyone happy. Nor should he allow things
to stay still, hoping that one half of the team will change their minds or that the
"right" path forward will miraculously become obvious. Rather, his job is to move
things forward.
There's a major lesson here for new leaders, and some longtime ones:
If you attempt to please everyone, you will end up pleasing no one.
So, how do you combat the tendency to be a people pleaser, and become a better
leader?
Here are three suggestions.
Prioritize those whom you want to please.
If you can't please everyone, whom should you focus on pleasing?
That's a complex question. And like all complex questions, the answer is ...
It depends.
In the business context, the answer depends on circumstances such as what stage your
company is in, your role at the company, and the company's short- and long-term
goals.
For example, for decades, fellow CEO Jeff Bezos bucked the norm and refused to
please Amazon shareholders by reinvesting large amounts of money, in hopes of
refining company strategy and getting really good at more than one thing.
That strategy made a lot of people unhappy, but it also transformed Amazon into one
of the most valuable companies in the world--and led to major profits in the long
run. At the same time, though, Amazon has been criticized for the way it treats
employees, especially those working in entry-level positions.
When deciding whom to prioritize, consider the following groups of people:
Your employees
Your customers
Company ownership, including shareholders
Your superiors
Other primary stakeholders
In addition, you should also consider yourself and your family. Not just because it's
the "right" thing to do, but because achieving balance and a stable home
environment will make you a better leader, too.
Pursue progress. Not perfection.
With an organization as large as Google (and its parent company, Alphabet, which has
more than 130,000 employees), it's easy for issues to get stuck. Meeting after meeting.
Discussion after discussion.
But leaders must remember that the goal isn't perfection. The goal is to move things
forward, and learn from mistakes.
"There are very few decisions that are extremely high stakes, where mistakes are going
to have major consequences," explains Pichai. "It's the incremental decisions that lead
to progress."
See the big picture.
Leading others requires giving them feedback they need to hear but don't want to
hear. At times, it means pushing them outside of their comfort zone. Challenging
them to do something they haven't done before, and may not even believe they're
capable of (but you know they are).
And if your tendency is still to try and please everyone, ask yourself this question:
If my team fails, or if the company goes out of business, who will be happy?
Nobody, that's who.
So, if you want to be a better leader, take a page out Sundar Pichai's playbook and ask
yourself:
"What ties did I break this week?"
Then, remember to:
Prioritize those you want to please
Pursue progress, not perfection

See the big picture
Because leadership is moving things forward.
Inc. helps entrepreneurs change the world. Get the advice you need to start, grow, and lead your business today.
Subscribe here for unlimited access.
JUN 24, 2021
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7/3/2021 Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says His Mentor Asked Him 1 Question Over and Over--and It Changed

It Changed the Way He Leads | Inc.com

Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says His Mentor Asked Him 1

BY JUSTIN BARISO, AUTHOR, EQ APPLIED @JUSTINJBARISO

Sundar Pichai. Getty Images

As CEO of Google and Alphabet, Sundar Pichai is responsible for making

Whenever they met, says Pichai, Campbell would ask him:

"What ties did you break this week?"

Pichai got the point.

If you attempt to please everyone, you will end up pleasing no one.

Here are three suggestions.

Prioritize those whom you want to please.

If you can't please everyone, whom should you focus on pleasing?

When deciding whom to prioritize, consider the following groups of people:

Pursue progress. Not perfection.

See the big picture.

Nobody, that's who.

"What ties did I break this week?"

Then, remember to:

Prioritize those you want to please

Pursue progress, not perfection

Because leadership is moving things forward.

JUN 24, 2021

Today’s 5 Must Reads

Type your email Sign Up

INC. TOP ARTICLES

The 2-Word Motto That Has Helped This

SPONSORED BUSINESS CONTENT

IFOREX THE AIC LATAM INVESTOR INGRAM MICRO

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