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Stanford Graduate School of BusinessStanford Graduate School of Business

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet

"You have to encourage innovation. Companies become more conservative in decision making as you grow...be okay with failure and reward effort, not outcomes."

Archana SohmshettyhostSundar Pichaiguest
Apr 27, 202246mWatch on YouTube

Summaries, chapters, transcripts, and FAQs on this page are made by uListen, not YouTube.

Transcript

  1. 0:00 – 0:08

    Intro

    1. AS

      [ on hold music] [audience applauds]

  2. 0:08 – 1:14

    Welcome back to Stanford and a playful warning about online bios

    1. AS

      Sundar, welcome back to Stanford.

    2. SP

      It's great to be here, and it's nice to be back physically with people in the room, so it's terrific.

    3. AS

      Yeah. And as you can tell, my classmates and I are so excited that you're here with us today. And this conversation is extra special for me because your story hits so close to home. Like you, my dad is from South India. He is an alumnus of IIT, and immigrated here about 30 years ago with grit and determination.

    4. SP

      [laughs]

    5. AS

      He's right here in the audience.

    6. SP

      [cheers] [applause]

    7. SP

      Wow. Nice to see you. [laughs]

    8. AS

      [laughs]

    9. SP

      [cheers] [applause]

    10. AS

      He's a role model for me, and so are you. So truly, thank you for being here.

    11. SP

      Oh, the real pleasure is mine. Uh, it's very nostalgic. I was just telling John I, I saw a volleyball court outside. Stanford was the end of my fledgling volleyball career. Coming here and seeing-

    12. SP

      [laughs]

    13. SP

      ... how good people were, but it's really nice to be back.

  3. 1:14 – 3:16

    Fact vs. fake Wikipedia edits: schooling and cricket claims

    1. AS

      Lots of talent around here. And, you know, when you first became the CEO of Google, it created quite a buzz. Your Wikipedia page had over 350 edits just in the week that you became the leader. Did you... Have you seen some of these edits?

    2. SP

      [laughs]

    3. SP

      Uh, advice I would have for all of you is don't read about yourself online.

    4. SP

      [laughs]

    5. AS

      [laughs] Well, we thought it'd be a good way to start the conversation-

    6. SP

      Uh-oh

    7. AS

      ... by visiting some of these Wikipedia edits, some of our favorite ones, with Fact versus Fake News: Your Wikipedia Page edition.

    8. SP

      [laughs]

    9. AS

      First of all, someone claimed-

    10. SP

      [laughs]

    11. AS

      ... that you decided to join IIT at the young age of eight years old. Fact or fake?

    12. SP

      Uh, I think that was fake. I was... My, my parents were tired of me. They send me to school I think when I was about two and a half to kindergarten. I was pretty young when I came to Stanford, but that-

    13. AS

      [laughs]

    14. SP

      ... is not true. [laughs]

    15. SP

      [laughs]

    16. AS

      At the same time, everyone wanted to claim you from their hometown and high school. So there are quite a few edits to your page on which high school you came from.

    17. SP

      [laughs]

    18. AS

      Where did you go? [laughs]

    19. SP

      [laughs]

    20. SP

      Um, there are two schools which are right, but the, the final school is Vana Vani, which is inside the campus where your dad went to college. So that's where I went to school.

    21. AS

      Wow. Okay. So the person that said you were homeschooled was definitely wrong. [laughs]

    22. SP

      [laughs]

    23. SP

      I, I don't think I was homeschooled, unless it involved playing cricket. Uh, you know, I wasn't homeschooled.

    24. AS

      Well, on that note- [laughs]

    25. SP

      [laughs]

    26. AS

      ... were you the captain of your high school cricket team?

    27. SP

      I would've loved to be. [laughs]

    28. SP

      [laughs]

    29. SP

      But I was quite far from it. Yeah.

    30. AS

      In another life. In another life.

  4. 3:16 – 5:02

    Early experiences with scarce technology and a mission for access

    1. AS

      You're speaking my language. [laughs] So now that we have the fiction out of the way, we can turn to some of the facts. You grew up in India with limited access to technology, and when you discovered technologies, it had a profound impact on you. How did you go from an initial delight in technology to devoting your career to access to technology for all?

    2. SP

      No, it was uh, you know, I had, uh, uh, you know, growing up for me, uh, you know, every, every technology transition was very vivid, even as a kid, because I had to wait a lo- long time for it. Uh, you know, we were on a wait list for a rotary telephone. It took five years to be on the wait list and get the phone. Uh, you know, I, I would go to get my grandparents' blood test results, and it would be an hour round trip each way. And you would go all the way to the hospital, and they would say, "It's not ready today. Come back tomorrow." And then this phone came, and I could call, and they would tell me whether the results were ready or not. And so to me, that was, like, super profound. And people would come to our house to make calls. I saw, you know, how it created a sense of community. So I've always had this vivid sense of how technology can make a profound difference. And, and so a lot of what I've tried to do is, uh, bring that access to technology, what I got. Uh, I got a lot more of it when I came to Stanford. Walking to Sweet Hall at the time and seeing rows of computers was life-changing for me. And, you know, I was very inspired by, uh, Negroponte's One Laptop per Child, uh, project. And, and even today, a lot of what I'm able to do at Google, be it make cheaper phones through Android, or bring the next billion people online, or Chromebooks and, and try to give, make affordable laptops, all hit close to that, uh, mission. So definitely.

  5. 5:02 – 7:47

    Leaving the PhD path: Silicon Valley’s pull, financial realities, and the early internet

    1. AS

      Yeah. And I can tell the way that you speak about technology, it had this impact on you, and it manifested in your studies as well. You got your engineering degree from IIT and then a master's here at Stanford in engineering, and were about to pursue a career in academia and get your PhD. Clearly, that's not the path you ended up taking. What changed your mind? Why did you decide to leave academia at the time?

    2. SP

      I still once in a while have a conversation with my dad. I think I disappointed him a little bit-

    3. SP

      [laughs]

    4. SP

      ... not, not getting that PhD. But, uh, you know, I, I literally came to Silicon Valley. For me, it was as literal. I mean, this was the pa- place where semiconductors were built. I came here for the silicon in Silicon Valley, and, you know, I, I did my ma- uh, I was a PhD student in material science. My... I was studying semiconductor physics and, and definitely, tha- that's what I thought I would do. A few things. One is I was surrounded by other grad students who had worked on, at the time, what was the rage. Uh, it was, uh, superconductors, what was called high TC superconductors, and I realized many of them had spent their life and it didn't happen. And so that, that gave me pause. Uh, you know, and, and I think something you all probably deal with being in the Valley, there's so much happening outside There's a lot that beckons outside, and so, you know, was definitely interested in that. I had financial reasons to go get a job, and so the combination of all that made me go out and be in industry. And, uh, you know, great learning moment. Uh, the semiconductor industry is extraordinarily cyclical. Uh, in my first year, uh, at, you know, in the company I worked, we hired 3,000 people, and the next year we laid off 1,700 people. And so, you know, you get out and you go through that life learning. Uh, but that was the early days of the internet, too, and definitely seeing what the promise the internet had and, and connecting it back to what I wanted to do, uh, you know, was what, uh, led me find my way back to Google. And I went to business school along the way. Not here, uh, but another great school, and, and eventually made it back to the Valley.

    5. AS

      Yeah. It seems like you saw the rapid change of technology outside of academia.

    6. SP

      Oh, yeah. You know, you know, you- both Stanford itself is a special place. I think there are, uh, you know, most faculty here are very, uh, you know... It's, it's a very symbiotic relationship, which I've always thought is unique amongst, uh, many places in the world. And, and so definitely both being in the campus, uh, you get a good sense for what's happening outside. And, and going to industry here, you know, you, you really get the sense for the dynamism. Uh, we take it for granted, but, you know, as I travel around the world, most people outside are trying to understand how the Valley works and how to, how to do better. So, you know, it's an extraordinary place.

  6. 7:47 – 9:28

    Why he stayed at Google: scale, talent, and global accessibility

    1. AS

      Yeah. And, and many of us here are in a transitory period of our lives, figuring out which industry we wanna go and, and impact. Uh, you've been at Google for now quite a while, 20 years, uh, and faced several crossroads during your time. Sometimes choosing to leave an industry is as difficult as choosing to stay. What drew you to stay at Google over the past 20 years?

    2. SP

      It's been very busy, partly that. [laughs]

    3. SP

      [laughs]

    4. SP

      And, uh, you, you know, I mean, it's an extraordinary place. Uh, you know, I think, uh, the breadth of talent you see, uh, uh, you know, the kind of projects you, you, you get exposed to, uh, you know, you're on the cutting edge of everything. Uh, it's like, I'm not a surfer, but I use this analogy. I don't know why. But it's like I've, I've tried it a couple of times and I've failed, but it feels like, you know, surfing and being on the edge of something all, all the time. So definitely I enjoy that. And a big part of it is, uh, you know, if you, if you look at our products, you know, Search works everywhere around the world. You know, we take pride in providing it, and it's accessible to everyone as long as they have computing and connectivity. Whether you're, uh, here at Stanford or a kid in rural Indonesia, uh, Google works for you. And, and that's the philosophy we bring across our products, uh, be it Gmail, be it Maps, be it YouTube. So we think about scale, being able to reach, uh, people and, and make technology more accessible and, and it's what I wanted to do in my life, and so it's a privilege to do it.

    5. AS

      Yeah. And there's no shortage of products to work on.

    6. SP

      No, there's no shortage. Sometimes too many at Google, uh, but that's another story.

  7. 9:28 – 10:43

    Building Chrome: quiet beginnings, showing prototypes, and small-team momentum

    1. AS

      Yeah. One of the early products that you worked on was Chrome. Uh, you led the team, and initially there was some pushback: high development costs, competitors in the space. But you had conviction that the browser was the way to go. Where did the conviction come from, and how did you convince skeptics that Chrome was the future?

    2. SP

      You know, at that time, Eric was our CEO, Eric Schmidt. And, you know, I remember him being angry once and say... Because he realized we were trying to build a browser, and he was like, "Do you know what it takes to build a browser? You know, it takes a..." Because he'd gone through the browser battles. He definitely didn't [laughs] you know, was hesitant for us to do it. Uh, partly, how did I do it? I didn't tell, tell people, uh, for a while. [laughs]

    3. SP

      [laughs]

    4. SP

      Just had a small team and, you know, worked on it. And, uh, and only when we had something to show, uh, you know, uh, you know, we had a chance to, uh, show the product, and that got people excited. And so... But it is, uh, you know, it's a good lesson. I think if you have a set of committed people, uh, passionate people, you can, you can achieve, you know, even I couldn't have foreseen what it would eventually become. But, you know, shows the power of a small group of committed people and, and actually not knowing the odds of what you're working on. So I think both helps.

  8. 10:43 – 12:51

    Scaling Google without losing its early culture: optimism, risk-taking, and rewarding effort

    1. AS

      Yeah. And you can obviously see the direction that Chrome grew into as one of the most popular browsers today. And you really have seen Google transition from pre-IPO to the trillion-dollar company it is today. Challenging, it, it's challenging to scale an organization of that size. Over the years, what do you think Google has done well as it's scaled?

    2. SP

      You know, I mean, there, it is, it is a complex thing scaling a company. Uh, I would say things we have gotten right. Uh, the first thing that struck me about Google when I joined the, uh, company, it was very different in the sense that it was a very optimistic place. So it was a rare place in which if you walked the hallways and you spoke to people, and you had ideas, people expanded on them. You know, uh, most of the times people try to tell you why things won't work. I felt the spirit was different. You know, people would tell you, "Oh, that's a great idea. You could do it this way and it would be better." So that struck me, that optimism, uh, the fact that you can innovate, make things better, solve problems, uh, I think, I think is, is, is a spirit I've tried to carry now, and it takes a lot of hard work. Uh, you have to encourage innovation. Uh, you know, one of the counterintuitive things is companies become more conservative as they grow. You have a lot more cash, you have a lot more resources, but, you know, companies tend to become more conservative in their decision-making. And so encouraging the company to take risks and innovate and be okay with failure and, and reward effort, not outcomes, and that's very hard to do in an organization. People tend to reward outcomes. And which means over time, the organization becomes more conservative, they take safer bets and, and so on. So a lot of scaling up is about making sure you preserve the good things you had in the early days, and that gets harder as the company becomes bigger. You have to work harder at it. But I think, uh, a big part of what we try hard to do is to keep that culture of, uh, innovating with technology, building products, shipping things, and, you know, and so that, that's one of the many things, but yeah.

  9. 12:51 – 14:05

    Organizational growing pains: transparency without context and designing for smaller units

    1. AS

      Yeah. And, and maintaining that culture as the company grows is not easy. It's, it's a difficult endeavor. What were some of the other kind of growing pains that you've seen G- Google have over the last couple of years?

    2. SP

      Yeah, I mean, uh, definitely a lot. I mean, when, when you're a small company, y- you know, think about the size of, uh, the business school. Uh, all of you have shared context, you know, you understand better what others are going through, and so you have better, uh, context around everything that's going on. A larger company, it definitely gets harder, right? And Google was built on, you know, everyone... It's a very open culture. Uh, even today, uh, one of the most common things people tell me when they come from other companies is, you know, they're shocked at how transparent the company is. You know, you have literally access to what's happening across the company. Uh, but it can be overwhelming, and just because you have transparency doesn't mean you have context. Uh, it's very different from when, when organizations are smaller. So that's been a big part of trying to figure out how to scale up the company and how do you, how do you organize more independently, coordinate only when needed, uh, but can have more parts of the company move as smaller units, and that's a hard balance to get right.

  10. 14:05 – 17:19

    AI-first strategy and responsible development: principles, stakeholders, and regulation

    1. AS

      Yeah. And, and now you're at the helm of Google, and you see all of these teams working in different directions, but one thing that you've been vocal about and enthusiastic about is AI. You've said AI is the most important thing humanity has ever worked on, and many of us will go on to work with AI or advanced computing in some form. How should we be thinking about AI to help, help humanity versus harm humanity?

    2. SP

      No, it's a great question. Uh, you know, when I became CEO, one of the biggest, uh, uh, directional changes we made is we said, you know, we're gonna approach everything as AI first, and, uh, we're applying it across everything we do in the company. It's a big part of the R&D we spend, and, and the progress is, uh, you know, palpable every year. Uh, you know, uh, it's exciting. There's a lot of progress. Um, you know, I think, uh, you know, we concretely see the evidence of, uh, just when you look at the scale at which translation works, uh, uh, you know, uh, or in search how we use AI or in Gmail when you type and we give suggestions. It a- it's applied across all our products, and so... And it definitely, you know, we can see the path by which we're making things better. Um, I think it'll profoundly transform pretty much every sector. Uh, you know, you see the potential in areas like healthcare. I think it'll still take a decade for it to fully play out, uh, but we definitely see the potential. I think to your question of, uh, how do you make sure, uh, you know, we develop it in a way, I think the, the essential struggle of humanity with every technology is, you know, harnessing it, uh, so that it benefits society. Uh, you know, y- you can see the same debates about the internet, uh, even before you think about AI. You know, has the internet been a force of good? Obviously. Uh, you know, has it had, had effects which we didn't fully anticipate? Yes. And we are, you know, and that's, that's the debate, and we are working about how best to address it. With AI, I think we need to think about it earlier. Uh, so, you know, part of how we are approaching, uh, you know, we have clearly articulated publicly a set of AI principles, uh, and, and publicly stated it, but, and we publish a lot of research. We open source technology. But that's only part of the problem. I think academic institutions need to play a big role. We were a founding member for Stanford's, uh, AI Institute, uh, HAI, and, and, and proud to be a supporter there. Uh, I think that they're doing terrific work. But I think academic institutions, nonprofits, and the public-private partnership, government will end up having a role. Uh, there has to be regulation, thoughtful regulation about AI. You have to get the balance right so that there is innovation, but, you know, I think it's important to think it through earlier than other technologies. So I think, uh, and, and, and, and so doing it and engaging all the stakeholders is the only way I can think of, uh, think of approaching it.

    3. AS

      So it seems like it's a living, breathing framework that evolves as AI also evolves.

    4. SP

      That's right. And it needs to involve, uh, uh, you know, many people from our, you know, from many different institutions to make it work.

  11. 17:19 – 19:47

    Human connection vs. disconnection: designing technology that fits human life (and AR’s potential)

    1. AS

      Yeah. I wanna touch on your point on technology being, being forward about technology and thinking about the benefits and harms as we're building it. Uh, in a post-COVID world, many of us have realized the importance of human connection, and we crave human connection. Yet sometimes technology can breed disconnection. How are you thinking about the future of quality connections with each other as technology becomes a larger part of our lives?

    2. SP

      I mean, look, technology is an enabler. Uh, ultimately, you know, it's people and society. You know, we have to organize around how we, how we use technology. I think, uh, you know, you're raising a very important point and, uh, uh, you know, thinking through about how technology is not isolating, uh, uh, or, or, you know, immersive in a way in which it prevents you from engaging, uh, I think genuinely is a good topic. I think all of us who have, uh, you know, kids, uh, you know, worry about it and struggle about it. Uh, I did like when our sons were playing in the middle school band. Uh, you know, it's what you wanna see them do more of. But, uh, you know, every generation always is very worried about technology of the future. It's, it's always been true when you look back, look back at it. And, and, and so I think, you know, that's part of the process. Uh, technology done correctly, uh, can enable interactions in the real world, you know. One of the companies we spun out of Google, which was Niantic, uh, did that, precisely that with Pokémon, and got people to move about and do stuff in the real world, which I found inspiring. But, uh, I think, uh, you know, I think over time, uh, part of even if we get augmented reality right, today, you know, when you see people on their phones walking on the streets immersed, uh, you know, you, you see that, uh, in some ways technology forces you to engage with it. It's, it hasn't adapted enough to how humans live life. And so part of solving, you know, more natural ways by which you can interact with computing, be it voice, be it computing understanding what you're looking at, you know, may actually help us do this better. Done, uh, wrongly can be even more isolating, but done correctly with the right attributes, I think, I think it can help bridge that gap. And so I think that's a potential for AR if done correctly.

    3. AS

      Yeah. So it's thinking in advance about the implications and then being there as the technology develops.

    4. SP

      That's right.

  12. 19:47 – 21:48

    Employee voice, walkouts, and learning from internal conflicts

    1. AS

      Yeah. Um, I wanna take a step back and look at Google more as a whole. Uh, some of the biases, uh, we've talked about with AI, but more with- more broadly, what goes on with Google's culture. In 2018, um, employees staged a walkout for women's rights. In 2020, Google was accused of mishandling the treatment of minorities on the ethical AI team. Uh, to start us off, as these events were happening, what was going through your head? What was your reaction?

    2. SP

      You know, one of the fortunate things I've felt is, uh, uh, you know, unlike most companies, from day one, Google has had a strong employee voice. Um, and for me as a CEO running a large company, uh, you know, I've always found it helpful because, you know, you trust your employees to get it right at scale. Uh, so, you know, I view it as a strength of the company, uh, when employees speak up. I think it's important for us to take it seriously. The walkout was a moment when the company hadn't gotten something right, and that's what, uh, the walkout was about. So internalizing it, acknowledging it, owning up to it, and making the com- committing and making the company better is, you know, how you approach those moments. And even today, I think employee input is something as a company, uh, we value deeply, and I would argue, uh, they push the company to be better, uh, uh, across all the things we do. Uh, you know, it is complex, as I said earlier. Uh, the context around these decisions, some of these decisions are always hard. Uh, and at scale, not everyone has the full context. But for what it's worth, I personally always felt one of the strengths of the company, and when it comes to be- being, getting AI right or doing things at scale and getting it right, you know, and we do it in many countries around the world, and, you know, I still today take great comfort in knowing that our employees, you know, deeply are guardian- guardians of our values and will do everything to get it right.

  13. 21:48 – 23:31

    DEI commitments and product changes: accountability, reporting, and inclusive technology

    1. AS

      Yeah. And I guess these past events help inform the future decision-making of Google. Uh, how are you thinking about promoting DE&I, diversity, equity, and inclusion, at Google moving forward?

    2. SP

      You know, uh, one of the most important moments, uh, as a company we went through, and I think ma- many companies around the world, uh, was, uh, the racial eq- equity moment around the murder of George Floyd. You know, as a company, for us, uh, it was a profound moment internally. I've, uh, never seen anything affect the company that much, uh, in, in the 16 years. Uh, we publicly committed to a, you know... I consulted and worked with our Black Leadership Advisory Group in the company and, you know, understanding most of the company w- wanted to do the right thing, tapping on the moment, and converting it into lasting commitment. So we publicly committed to a set of initiatives, and we are holding ourselves accountable. We give transparency reports on how we are making progress on that. And, and be it, uh, you know, committing to improving our, uh, leadership representation, uh, from underrepresented groups, uh, be it committing to driving improvements in our products. Uh, you know, last year in Pixel and in our camera technology, we launched Real Tone, uh, you know, a more inclusive way to capture pictures, uh, to cover all skin tones. I mean, these are all examples of how you can use technology to make progress here. Uh, scaling, uh, and, and giving more people access to technology, particularly in underrepresented groups. These are all commitments we have made and, you know, and, and, you know, that's one s- one part of how we work through moments like those.

  14. 23:31 – 26:55

    Future of work at Google: hybrid flexibility, agency, and rethinking tools

    1. AS

      Yeah. So it seems like you're taking a technological approach as well as an empathetic approach, listening to your employees, hearing what they have to say. Uh, what's top of mind for employees right now is the future of work. You recently released your future of work plan for Google employees, and I can imagine you're balancing a lot of perspectives that are competing. How did you integrate competing preferences when crafting your future of plan work?

    2. SP

      You know, for me, uh, for, for what it's worth, I am incredibly excited about this next phase of, uh, the future of work. And, uh, I think 20 years ago, Google was kind of... It's now done so much around the valley, people take it for granted. But Google did rethink what workspaces could be. Uh, you know, they thought workspaces could be fun. We had slides in our offices. You know, we bridged, uh, uh, you know, we changed workplaces pretty radically. We gave people a lot of agency. Our employees had a lot of agency. Uh, it felt fun to be, uh, in the offices. And we didn't think that was at odds of being productive, right? Uh, so the sense of creating community, uh, fostering creativity in the workplace, collaboration, all makes you a better company. I view giving flexibility to people the same way. Um, to be very clear, I do think we strongly believe in in-person connections, but I think we can achieve that in a more purposeful way, uh, and give employees, again, more agency and flexibility. So I think hybrid work is great. We're gonna leverage the scale of the company. We have many locations around the world, so people can move to other places and work. Uh, we are starting with a three-two hybrid option, but we have encouraged employees to apply to be fully remote as well, and, you know, we have supported 85% of those applications. So I'm excited. You know, you earlier asked about, uh, you know, diversity. One of the best ways we can now approach diversity is actually showing up in places where diverse talent is. More importantly, when we get that talent, them being in communities which have the supporting structure for them. And so we are now in Atlanta, in Chicago, in DC, uh, you know, recruiting employees. Uh, I think being able to, uh, support the participation of women in the workforce, I think the flexibility is going to be a huge asset. So I'm excited by it, and I think, uh, you know, and I think I find when people come back, and people are very excited to come back to the office, by the way. Uh, you know, as we have opened up, uh, we are easily at over 70% already back to our pre-pandemic, uh, you know, presence in the offices, and it's growing. But giving people that choice, it always bothered me that, uh, the stress around commutes or when people had parent-teacher conferences and, or doctor appointments, balancing all that. You know, there's a lot of stress which people are carrying. So I think it gets us, gives us a chance to rethink. Also as a technology, since we build, uh, uh, uh, products like Gmail, Docs, Meet, and so on, it gives a chance to rethink products too and, and, and make it all work better. So, uh, you know, f- uh, you know, I, I think it's one of the most exciting things that's happening in, uh, in the workforce. Uh, you know, and uh, I, I, I think you'll see the benefits of it over time.

  15. 26:55 – 29:18

    Corporate action in crisis: employee safety, information integrity, and support during the Ukraine war

    1. AS

      Yeah, absolutely. It seems like you're emphasizing intentionality and flexibility when it comes to hybrid work, and your plans really do set the stage for other companies in Silicon Valley and beyond. So we're all looking to you and your leadership for, for guidance on things like this. Uh, so you also recently just got back from Warsaw. Uh, you were helping out with the Ukraine refugee crisis. Uh, how do you... Uh, when is it appropriate for corporations to step in on public issues like Ukraine, Russia?

    2. SP

      I mean, f- uh, well, first of all, uh, you know, for us, we are directly i- involved because both we have employees in Ukraine and Russia. Uh, our products work in these regions. Being an information company at moments like this, uh, you know, it, it, you know, it's really critical for us to get these moments right. Uh, so we approach it a few ways. Foremost, the safety of our employees, like every other organization, making sure employees are safe. Uh, second, very critical for us is getting access to information, right? Tackling misinformation, removing, uh, uh, you know, what we felt were, uh, propaganda information, and raising what we do in Search and YouTube at moments like that is raising higher quality information, including providing information within Russia at moments like this. Uh, you know, it's been a large part of, uh, the work we do. Launching important things like air raid alerts on Google Maps in Ukraine. Uh, being in Warsaw, uh, one of the things that struck me, uh, and it's true for pretty much everyone there, an average Google employee had two to three refugee families with them. These are mainly women and children. Uh, you know, people don't speak the same language all the time, uh, people using Google Translate on their phones to communicate. Uh, so we had to do a sprint to get the language translation working right. We opened up a portion of our space to NGOs, uh, as well as, uh, entrepreneurs from Ukraine. And more importantly, we committed to investing in Poland, so we announ- announced a $700 million investment, both in office space and to hire more people in Poland, and we're gonna commit to investing in Central and Eastern Europe, uh, at this, at this pivotal time. But I think, uh, definitely the, the w- the war shows how much, uh, you know, we have to continue fighting for, and so it's an important moment to get right.

  16. 29:18 – 35:15

    Choosing causes and pushing skilling and sustainability at scale

    1. AS

      Yeah. It's, uh, it's incredible to see corporations like Google committing time, resources, financial investment, and technology to causes like this, and I'm personally in awe of how many causes that you're invested in. Uh, apart from Ukraine, Russia, you also have announced plans recently in investment in Africa, in things like job skills training for low to middle income folks. More broadly, how do you choose which causes you want to invest your time and effort into?

    2. SP

      I mean, it's a great question. Uh, you know, with a company at scale, there are, there's a lot of things that come your way. I, I think you have to be, uh, disciplined about where you think Google can make a difference and, you know, what is a unique perspective or value proposition you can bring to the table. And, and, you know, over time, we have understood by, uh, things we can do well and things other organizations are better at doing. Uh, an area, for example, given our focus on information, uh, skilling has been a big focus for us, uh, digital skilling. I think, uh, you know, there is no substitute for college, but unfortunately not everyone can, uh, you know, has access to, uh, access to and can afford to go to a college. And so skilling people, bringing them, uh, giving them access to digital skills has been a big push. Uh, in the US, uh, we launched a career certificate program. It's a nine-month program. We have done it on four major areas. And, and, and, and we back it up with working with employers to recruit people. Uh, and it's been extraordinarily successful. 75,000 people have gone through it, and, and, you know, almost 50% of it is from underrepresented groups. And when I look at the demand there is from people for these things, and so I think as a society we need to figure out about how we can scale and, and give access to sc- digital skilling to more people. So but that's an area where we feel Google can strongly contribute, and, and, uh, so we, we choose and get involved in areas like that. Sustainability is another one, so, you know, we, we choose where we think we can add value.

    3. AS

      Yeah. So it seems like you look at your strengths, and then look at what impact you can make based off of your strengths, and pursue those issues.

    4. SP

      That's right.

    5. AS

      Yeah. And you touched on this briefly, but sustainability. A couple years ago, you announced this lofty goal of being carbon neutral at Google by 2030, and you have to unify many business units and product lines to achieve this goal. How are you going about getting the whole company to rally behind a goal of sustainability?

    6. SP

      Look, one of the important things, and if I could clarify one thing, uh, because it's subtle and people... We've been carbon neutral since 2007. Uh, so Google has been carbon neutral since 2007, and one of the earliest companies, uh, to do so. Sustainability has long been an important goal. What we have now committed, uh, is, uh, by 2030 to be carbon free, so not using offsets, uh, and but actually running our operations 24/7, uh, carbon free. That is a hard challenge, um, uh, because today we can use offsets and, you know, and, and that involves investing in developing new technologies, uh, beyond wind and solar. Uh, you know, be it carbon cap- carbon capture, how do you store energy, and to do it around the world. And so but it excites us because it's a lot of R&D again, uh, and you can apply technology. And when we, we bought some of the earliest wind and solar contracts in 2010, and costs have fallen by 85% in the last 10 years. And so again, looking at these new technologies, we just have a whole data center now up and running with geothermal. Um, and so tapping into new technologies, and we want to bootstrap it and, and help drive the technology and the cost curve, uh, over the next decade, uh, so that we can reach there. But it's a challenge. It stresses us out, uh, but I, you know, incredibly excited as a technologist, the chance to make progress at that.

    7. AS

      Yeah. And you know, none of these big initiatives were asked of you and asked of Google. These are things that you as a company and you as a leader have decided to take on. Uh, the, the theme for our slate of speakers this year is Beyond Expectations. So we'd love to hear what motivates you to go above and beyond what is expected of a business leader.

    8. SP

      Y- you know, uh, I would tie it back to the first question, at least in the context of the work I do. Uh, you know, I travel around the world and, you know, I still today, particularly when you go into emerging markets, uh, it's a very different view from here. You see how eager people are to get access to technology because they understand, uh, how it'll make their lives better. So you see it, you feel it, when I go to Vietnam or India or Africa and, and so, you know... And, and there's a lot more work to be done. And, and just in India recently, uh, we are working on, you know, a, a cheaper high-quality smartphone, maybe around the $30 price point. Uh, and last week we just announced in Africa our product development center in Nairobi, hiring engineers, UX designers and so on. When you see the appetite and the, and the desire for people, uh, to make their lives better by gaining access to technology, uh, you know, that's what compels me to go beyond and, and it's... I, I think it's very consistent with what our company has set out to do.

    9. AS

      Yeah. I can tell how much intentionality you have behind all of the initiatives within Google and externally. So truly, thank you so much for giving us a framework and ideas behind how you make decisions that we can kind of take away from here. Um, with that, we do have student questions, so we can turn it over. Uh, right there.

  17. 35:15 – 45:50

    Student Q&A and lightning round: regulation, information quality, leadership habits, and personal reflections

    1. SP

      Hi, Sundar. My name is Melissa Jiang, and I was a former Tapestry employee, so great to meet you. Um, my question is, going back to the year or forward to the year 2030, in what capacity do you see Alphabet partnering the most with governments? And this can be from tech access, to grids, to search. And what will make you feel most proud of getting right?

    2. SP

      Uh, you know, second part is, uh, you know, I do think sustainability is going to be the defining issue, uh, for, uh, for us to get right in the next decade or so. So we are definitely, you know, committing Alphabet, uh, seriously. Just, just to get to a carbon-free goal would, it would involve billions of dollars in incremental investment from us, uh, but we think it's the right thing to do. It'll be good for us as a business, I think, over time. Uh, but, but I think, uh, you know, that is something I want us to be able to get right, and I think, uh, definitely something we'd be proud of if we can get there. To your first question, I, I presume you're asking by 2030, how do you see us engaging with governments and so on. Look, I think tech, tech, one of the bigger, uh, you know, more profound changes underway is I think technology is going to be a regulated industry. And, and part of, uh, you know, as a company working at scale is- Anticipating, working constructively with regulators and, and, and because I think at the end of the day, technology affects citizens, and so every country is going to be thinking about this deeply. And take Europe's GDPR as an example. It's an important foundational privacy legislation, right? And I think we, we had to anticipate it. We invested, uh, almost 18 months of work to get ready for it. And, and I think it's given certainty to both European citizens. It gives businesses certainty about how to operate. So that's one example of legislation working. And, and so, you know, we would expect to be constructively working with, uh, you know, governments around the world. Uh, you know, Archana mentioned AI, and, you know, I think that's going to be important for us to get right. And, and I think governments will end up playing a key role in the timeframe.

    3. SP

      Hi, Sundar. I'm Shanice. Thank you for being here. Uh, yesterday we had the privilege of having Barack Obama on campus, and he spoke about how changes in the way we communicate and consume information has a massive impact on our democracy. So while Google is not a social media company, I'm curious to know what you see Google's role in that debate is.

    4. SP

      I mean, first of all, I, I think it was an important speech and, uh, you know, I think this is something we think about deeply. It's, it's in our stated mission. Uh, you know, if you think about Search, this is what we are trying to do for every query, right? We are trying to sort what is higher quality information. And so it's, it cuts to the essence of, uh, what we do. Um, you know, in, in YouTube, we have brought the same principles. One example... Such a complex topic, but maybe I can answer it with an example. Uh, you know, it's, it's actually easier to do this as a company when society agrees on an area. So when there is-- when society converges and agree. You can see that happening in the context of the war, uh, Russia, Ukraine, and I think that's why you see, uh, a lot of companies able to, be able to get it right. When society is very divided about where to draw the lines, uh, you know, it inherently gets harder. But the way we approach is generally, uh, you know, uh, on, on important areas, to use YouTube as an example, we raise what we think of as a- authoritative information. That's journalistic content or, or in the case of if it's health related, uh, you know, maybe from universities or acade- I mean, aca- hospitals or, uh, you know, public health organizations. So we, we, we use those tools just like we have done Search to try and think hard about what are higher quality sources of information, and we view that as a goal. And, you know, that's one way by which we tackle the problem. But it's an important issue, and I think part of it is, you know, if there are better rules, including laws and legislation, I think it'll actually make it easier. But you'll find writing the law and legislation is hard because I think as a society, we are still grappling with what, uh, what we think is the right answer for many, many of these things.

    5. AS

      I'll pick, uh, one more.

    6. SP

      Hi, Sundar. I'm the other Archana at the business school. [audience chuckles] And also from Madras, so it's really nice to meet you. I used to work for the Gates Foundation thinking about bringing innovation to emerging markets and underserved people, so everything you say resonates. My question is a more personal one. Doing the work you do, there are many difficult days, difficult moments, highs and lows. Do you have any everyday habits or personal mantras that keep you going when things get tough?

    7. SP

      Uh, it's a, it's a great question. Uh, first of all, I mean, most decisions, it took me a while to realize when decisions come to you, uh, you know, the higher up you are in an organization, uh, the easy decisions don't come to you, right? [audience chuckles] And by definition, when something has come to you, uh, it's because, you know, others have spent time on it and they can't resolve it. So in some ways, I, I realize that. Uh, so two things. One is, I think you making that decision is the most important thing you can do. You, you know, we, you know, you're breaking a tie and it unlocks the organization to move forward. And, uh, and so, you know, and it's, it's an important thing. One of the mentors here, Bill Campbell, uh, you know, taught that to me early. Every week he would see me, he would ask me, "What ties did you break this week?" And, and so it's always stuck with me. So I view making these decisions as, you know, you're really helping the company, and so that, that makes it a bit more fun. Uh, [chuckles] the second is, you know, with time you realize most of those decisions aren't consequential. It might appear very tough at the time. You know, it may feel like a lot rides on it, but you look later and you realize, you know, it wasn't that consequential. There are a few consequential, uh, decisions, and judgment is a big part of leadership, and you don't always get it right and you have to learn from it. But I think most decisions aren't that consequential. And so, you know, so thinking through both helps me think about it as it's just another normal day in the office, and so you, you keep going through it.

    8. AS

      All right. So I think we have time for one more question. Right back there.

    9. SP

      Hi, Sundar. My name is Nick Bashour. I'm from Syria, and in Syria, 20 million people don't have access to all of the products that Google produces. That's because of regulations that are put in place by countries like the United States and certain countries in the European Uni- U- European Union. So on top of being under a dictatorship, 20 million Syrians don't have access to the financial world, don't have access to basic technology products, and the gap between the developed and developing world is really just increasing. You're one of the most important leaders in the world. What are you doing to advocate on behalf of these people and, uh, give truly universal access to technology products? Thank you.

    10. SP

      That's a great question. Uh, you know, as, as a company, y- you know, our mission is to provide universal access to information and, you know, any time, uh, you know, we are not able to do that for a set of reasons, I mean, you know, we struggle with it, you know. Uh, we feel compelled to try to find a way. Uh, we do have to comply with laws as a company and, you know, and in, in areas like Syria, uh, the way, the ways we have contributed, uh, A, you know, we, we are, we've been involved in the refugee work around-

    11. SP

      Yeah

    12. SP

      ... uh, you know, Syrian refugees for a long time. You know, we build access to open source technologies, uh, in many of these cases and, you know, and, and support things. Android is open source. Things do make their way, uh, in- into these countries, so we work at a open source level in areas where we are not fully able to directly work. But I think, you know, it's, it's an important question. I don't have all the answers here. Uh, but thanks for asking it and, you know, I'll, I'll think about it more.

    13. AS

      Awesome. So we typically conclude our conversations with a lightning round. I will start a sentence and you'll finish it.

    14. SP

      [laughs]

    15. AS

      So it's a fill in the blank.

    16. SP

      [laughs]

    17. AS

      So first of all, something that inspires me is...

    18. SP

      You know, uh, watching the next generation blossom and, you know, I think, uh, society always worries that the next generation isn't as good as they are. That is not true.

    19. SP

      [laughs]

    20. SP

      Uh, and the next generation ends up making the world even better, so that inspires me.

    21. AS

      I am the most proud of...

    22. SP

      Try- trying my best to do the right thing by the people uh, uh, I am involved with, both obviously, uh, personally and, and professionally, people I work with.

    23. AS

      During my time at Stanford, I loved...

    24. SP

      I, you know, I used to love, uh, just being out in the quad and sitting and grabbing lunch with friends. Driving today reminded me of that, for sure.

    25. AS

      I am the happiest when...

    26. SP

      Uh, many things, but you know, being around, uh, people building products and solving problems, uh, you know, still something- makes me very happy.

    27. AS

      And finally, the best piece of leadership advice I've received is...

    28. SP

      You know, be authentic to yourself and, and be the best leader you can be. I think there's no one right template, and don't try to be, uh, in someone else's mold.

    29. AS

      That's wonderful. Sundar, thank you so much. It's been such a pleasure. [clapping]

    30. SP

      Thank you.

Episode duration: 46:10

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