Search No Further：The Story of Eric Schmidt and Google硅谷神话Google的缔造者埃里克·施密特

Eric Schmidt made a move that surprised many in dot-com circles when he became the chief executive officer of Google, the phenomenally successful web search engine. Google had quickly garnered a cult following for its clean interface and speedy results, and was set to become the high-tech industry's next stellar financial success.Schmidt, a veteran of computer manufacturer Sun Microsystems and Novell, the software maker, was considered the ideal visionary to guide Google into a period of growth and maturation as a business.

Schmidt was born in 1955 and graduated from Princeton University in 1976 with a degree in electrical engineering. He then earned a graduate degree in engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and a doctorate in computer science from there as well.In 1983 he was hired at Sun Microsystems, a Silicon Valley computer maker that was still a very young company.

Sun quickly emerged as an industry leader. Schmidt began there as a software manager, and in 1991，he was named head of Sun Technology Enterprises, an arm of the company charged with exploring future directions in new technologies.He returned to Sun proper in 1994 as its chief technology officer, and as such Schmidt has been credited with helping make the Java programming language ubiquitous to the web in the late 1990s.Schmidt left Sun to take a job at Novell in 1997.Hired as its new chief executive officer, Schmidt faced a formidable task:to reverse the declining fortunes of this software manufacturer.

When Schmidt arrived at Novell in March of 1997，its stock price was sinking, but he felt that the core leadership and vision was still there.“I've done my due diligence and concluded there's tremendous technology inside the company and we need to get it out as fast as we can，”he said.“This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me.”Schmidt liked to sell Novell software himself personally to CEOs around the world, and during his first year on the job logged more than 250000 air miles. By mid-1998，Novell's fortunes had improved after Schmidt helped it renew focus on its core business.

In March of 2001，Schmidt surprised many when he became board chair of Google, Inc.，the California-based Internet search engine.“I just liked the company，”Schmidt recalled.“It's as simple as that.”Five months later, he was made Google's new CEO. Google was founded in 1998 by two Stanford University doctoral students, Larry Page and Sergey Brinn.It began as a search service for the techie insiders, but quickly caught on with more and more web users for its uncluttered look and impressively quick search results.And it was soon one of the top 15 most-visited websites.“They're, the eBay of information，”a Morgan Stanley analyst, told Fortune.“You go to eBay to find things that are hard to find.You go to Google to find informaton that is hard to find.”

Succeeding Page as CEO, Schmidt was viewed as the leader who would make Google the next Yahoo or Amazon. com.Schmidt felt at home at the company, which boasts 50 employees with Ph.D.s among a staff of 400.Google's iconoclasm was evident in all aspects of the company-from the absence of large banner, ads on its search page to the motorized scooters that employees rode inside headquarters.

Over the next few months, Google's fortunes only continued to escalate. The nature of the web meant that search engines themselves, while widely used, were tough to make profitable.Google was performing about 150 million searches a day（or 1800 per second）which takes an immense amount of computing power.Google did sell what are known as“click-through”ads（if a search engine query is“tennis shoes，”for example, a small Nike ad will appear）.These small ads were only words, not images, which cut page-loading time immnsely.

With Schmidt at the helm, Google is aggressively trying to leverage its reach technology, and advertiser base. The ultimate goal is“To enable you to find anything you are looking for anywhere，”Schmidt says.

Most Friday afternoons, Google employees worldwide can tune in for a Q&A with co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.“People ask anything from‘What is our specific direction in this area?'to‘Why has the soda（in the snack rooms）changed?'”says Stacy Sullivan, director of human resources and chief culture officer. Google's focus on maintaining a“flat organization”where any employee can address company co-founders on a weekly basis.

In addition to its perks and meritocratic culture, Google is in tune with the increasing importance people place on work-life balance. The company provides an on-site doctor and dentist at headquarters and even allows employees to bring their dogs to work.

“Contributing to society”is another career goal that scores highly with its employees, and the Google culture is geared toward individuals who want to use innovation and creativity to make a tangible difference in the organization：“We're looking for people who are really thinking differently and out of the box, who want to do something that will have an impact on the world.”Every Google employee is encouraged to spend 20%of his or her time developing a new project, a practice that has already resulted in such Google innovations as Google News, Gmail, Google Talk and Froogle.

Google never lets its success rest on a reputation for being innovative alone，“Frankly, one of our biggest issues at Google is how we continue to attract the most talented people in the world and make this an engaging place for them to build their careers.”

当埃里克·施密特加盟谷歌这一非常成功的网络搜索引擎并任首席执行官时，他的举措震撼了互联网界。谷歌因其界面简洁、搜索迅速吸引了大批追随者，而且成为基于高新技术获得巨大经济效益的成功典范。人们认为，在计算机制造商——太阳计算机系统公司和制作软件的诺勒有限公司均有建树的施密特，是引领谷歌成长壮大的理想人选。

施密特生于1955年，1976年获得普林斯顿大学电子电气工程学学士学位，随后在加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校取得工程学硕士学位及计算机科学博士学位。1983年，他受雇于太阳计算机系统公司——硅谷的一家新兴计算机制造公司。

太阳计算机系统公司很快发展成为该行业的引领者。在那里，施密特最初任软件制造经理。1991年，他成为公司分支企业——主攻新技术开发的太阳科技企业的领导。1994年，他回到太阳公司，任技术总监。同时，他参与了流行于20世纪90年代末期的Java语言的设计。

施密特1997年离开太阳，加盟诺勒。作为首席执行官，施密特面临着严峻的挑战：他必须扭转这个软件制造公司的亏损局面。

1997年3月施密特加盟时，诺勒的股票价格一路走低，但施密特认为核心领导阶层依然可以为企业带来活力。“我努力做好我的分内工作，其实公司在技术上是很有实力的，我们只需尽快将这种实力展现出来就可以了，”他说，“对我而言，这是个千载难逢的机会。”施密特喜欢亲自将诺勒的软件向全球的首席执行官们推广，并在上任的第一年就飞往全球各地，总航程达25万英里。1998年中期，施密特通过帮助诺勒恢复其核心业务而使其资产扭亏为盈。

2001年3月，施密特就任总部设在加州的网络搜索引擎谷歌集团的董事长，这令很多人感到惊奇。施密特回忆道：“我只是很喜欢这个公司，就这么简单！”五个月后，他走马上任谷歌的首席执行官。谷歌成立于1998年，创始人是斯坦福的两个博士生拉里·佩奇和谢尔盖·布林。谷歌最初只是为内部技术人员提供搜索服务，但它简洁的界面和快捷的搜索吸引了越来越多的使用者。不久，它就成为15个访客最多的网站之一。一位摩根斯坦利分析人士在接受《财富》采访时说：“谷歌是信息交流的平台，就像易趣网一样。在易趣网上你能找到别处找不到的东西，同理，在谷歌上你可以找到别处找不到的信息。”

施密特继佩奇之后成为谷歌第二任首席执行官，人们都认为在他的带领下，谷歌能够发展壮大成为第二个雅虎或亚马逊。施密特视公司如家，公司里400多名员工中有50名拥有博士学位。“打破传统”是谷歌的不二信条。从谷歌主页不设标幅式广告到总部内部职员们骑的便捷电动滑行车，这一理念无处不在。在接下来的几个月中，谷歌资产一路飙升。其实搜索引擎尽管应用广泛，也还是很难获得巨额利润，这是网络本身的特点。而谷歌每天搜索量达1.5亿次（平均每秒1800次），这么大的搜索量需要一个超强的计算系统。谷歌推出一个“点击进入”的广告项目（如输入关键字“网球鞋”，点击后就会出现一个耐克鞋广告），这些小广告只有文字，没有图片，大大节省了下载页面的时间。

有施密特掌舵，谷歌在开发新技术、新客户的道路上昂首阔步。施密特说，他们的终极目标就是“让大家在谷歌找到在别处找不到的任何信息”。

周五下午，全球各地的谷歌员工都可以向创始人谢尔盖·布林和拉里·佩奇提问。人力资源部主任、首席文化官丝德西·沙利雯说：“大家的问题多种多样，比如‘在这一地区我们将实行什么特别计划？’或‘（食品供应区的）苏打水怎么换了？’。”谷歌力求在与员工对话时创造一个“平台”，使得员工可以每周都有机会与谷歌的共同创办者对话。

谷歌有着优厚的福利待遇和精英文化，还特别注重使员工的生活与工作达到平衡。公司总部有网上医生和牙医为大家排忧解难，员工们甚至可以把狗带到工作间。

“贡献社会”是谷歌员工的另一个奋斗目标。谷歌文化旨在调动每一位员工的积极性，让他们用革新与创造力使企业呈现全新的面貌。“我们需要的员工要能跳出固定模式，追求新异思维。他们要做的是能够影响全世界的事。”谷歌鼓励每位员工抽出20%的时间开发新项目。这一举措已成就了新开发的谷歌新闻、Gmail、Google Talk和Froogle。

创新绝非谷歌成功的唯一法宝。“坦白地说，谷歌最关心的问题之一是如何吸引世界各地的人才，如何让他们来这里一展才华。”

实战提升

核心单词

garner['gɑ:nə]v.收集，积累；n.谷仓

maturation[,mætju'reiʃən]n.成熟

engine['endʒin]n.引擎；发动机；v.给……安装发动机

tangible['tændʒəbl]adj.非想象的；实际的

财经知识一点通

搜索引擎（search engine）

是指根据一定的策略、运用特定的计算机程序搜集互联网上的信息，对信息进行组织和处理，并将处理后的信息显示给用户，是为用户提供检索服务的系统。

首席执行官（Chief Executive Officer，缩写CEO）

是在一个企业中负责日常经营管理的最高级管理人员，又称为行政总裁。

翻译练习

lt began as a search service for the techie insiders, but quickly caught on with more and more web users for its uncluttered look and impressively quick search results.

With Schmidt at the helm, Google is aggressively trying to leverage its reach technology, and advertiser base.

ln addition to its perks and meritocratic culture, Google is in tune

with the increasing importance people place on work-life balance.