谷歌昔日旧将今何在

    帕特里克•基恩在谷歌公司（Google）上班的时候接到过各路招募官打来的许多电话。有一阵子，身为销售战略和区域营销主管的基恩每周都会接到一份新的工作邀请。用基恩自己的话说，这些招募人员差不多是在用乞求的口吻邀请他出任CEO，掌管某一家“怪异的，还未确定标识的技术初创公司”。

    基恩最终选择了离开谷歌，由此成为数百位投入外部技术世界热情怀抱的前谷歌人之一（这家位于加州山景城的公司神话般的崛起让许多技术公司大为叹服）。自2004年上市以来，谷歌从人力资源部几乎没有正确答案的脑筋急转弯问题，到公司进行决策时对数据的狂热追求，谷歌的DNA已经赋予其工程师一种或许让硅谷其他公司无法比拟的特质，使他们成为炙手可热的香饽饽。那么，谷歌的销售和营销人员的情况怎么样？这个问题没有并没有统一的答案。

    离开谷歌的人士中，最有名气的或许是谢丽尔•桑德伯格。曾经担任谷歌全球网络销售与运营副总裁的桑德伯格现在是Facebook公司首席运营官，她是一位无可置疑的商业巨星。此外还有曾任谷歌亚太和拉美地区运营总裁的苏克辛德•辛格•卡西迪。在担任了一段时间加速合伙公司（Accel Partners）的常驻CEO和社交购物网站Polyvore的CEO之后，她创办了购物网站Joyus.com。富有魅力的中东地区营销总裁瓦伊勒•高尼姆从谷歌辞别，参与策动了埃及革命。与此同时，基恩成了网络出版公司Associated Content的CEO，并于去年夏天将这家公司以1亿美元的价格卖给了雅虎公司（Yahoo）。

    但没有取得斐然成绩的前谷歌人也有很多。蒂姆•阿姆斯特朗也许是从谷歌毕业的最有名气的“差生”了。迄今为止，这位前谷歌销售总裁还没有为陷入持久困境的美国在线公司（AOL）找到止血之策。他招募然后解雇了一些前谷歌人，比如广告销售主管杰夫•利维克和媒体主管大卫•恩。前期采用谷歌式专注数据的经营手法失败之后，这家公司已经踉踉跄跄地换了一个又一个战略。

    其他人或许仅仅只是因为选错了东家。谷歌公司前全球销售副总裁马戈•乔治艾迪斯仅仅在团购网站Groupon担任了5个月的首席运营官之后，又重返这家搜索巨头，出任美洲区广告销售和运营业务总裁。2008年，谷歌东南亚区销售业务总裁理查德•金柏成为Friendster公司的CEO，尽管这家交友网站在美国本土的声名不佳，但后来还是被卖给了马来西亚电子支付公司MOL global，现在已经成了一家游戏网站。在其他地方，有些博客对一些前谷歌营销高管的评价一直都不太友善，一些初创公司的最终结局也差强人意。

    鉴于在其他地方工作有可能面临的挑战（既没有免费食物，又没有攀岩墙），谷歌的员工为什么要离职呢？要知道，谷歌可一直是《财富》杂志（Fortune）最佳雇主排行榜中位列前5名的公司，而且为了遏制公司的人才外流到Facebook这样的竞争者那里，谷歌最近还大幅提高了员工薪酬（该公司拒绝接受本文作者的采访）。

    原因之一是，这家公司的非工程师员工面临独特的发展障碍。谷歌根据数据来进行决策的做法是出了名的，而且公司领导层历来不太重视广告。在这种强烈的定量文化中，销售人员（或其他非工程师员工）可能很难有出头之日。

    此外就是初创公司的吸引力了。许多谷歌人仅仅是觉得如果离开山景城，他们或许能更快地为自己赢得更大的声誉。市场对于谷歌销售和营销员工的需求是很高的。“在谷歌营销部门有过几年工作资历的人都备受追捧，”硅谷猎头公司Foxhunt首席运营官大卫•沃斯说。“当然，我说的是最顶级的1%。”

    前谷歌人基恩说：“谷歌是销售行业挖墙脚的的好地方。这是一个非常好的培训机构。”前谷歌人执掌的公司往往可以获得媒体和投资者更多的关注。此外，在一家迅速成长的公司担任老大的机会是很难拒绝的，即使这家公司不具备如谷歌那般崇高的地位。“拥有最高权威的感觉非常美好，”基恩说。

    当然，许多前谷歌人还没有经历过大的成败。有些前谷歌营销或销售员工在诸如个人信息聚合网站FriendFeed, 社交广告公司Media6Degrees, 百科知识网站Factual以及数字和移动营销解决方案供应商Edo Interactive这样一些（但不限于此)颇有潜力的初创公司任职。还有一些销售员工去了LimeWire和网络视频公司Veoh这样的公司，后者在濒临破产之际被投资者收购。就目前而言，这些前谷歌人最终会成为下一个谢丽尔•桑德伯格，还是蒂姆•阿姆斯特朗，谁都说不准。

    译者：任文科

    When he worked at Google, Patrick Keane got a lot of calls from recruiters. For a while, as director of sales strategy and field marketing, Keane would get a new offer every week practically begging him to sign on as the CEO of a "weird-undefined-logo tech startup," as he puts it.

    Keane eventually left, joining the ranks of hundreds of ex-Googlers (GOOG) who have jumped into the eager embrace of a tech world wowed by the fabulous rise of the Mountain View, California-based company. Since it went public in 2004, Google's DNA -- from HR's impossible brain teasers to the rabid focus on data in its decision-making -- has conferred on its engineers a desirability that may be unparalleled in Silicon Valley. What about Google's sales and marketing people? Results have been mixed.

    The best-known Google expat is likely Sheryl Sandberg. Formerly the company's global online sales and operations VP, Sandberg is now COO of Facebook and a bone fide business superstar. There's also Suhkinder Singh Cassidy, formerly Google's top sales executive for Asia-Pacific and Latin America. She founded shopping site Joyus.com after a stint as CEO-in-residence of Accel Partners and CEO of Polyvore. Google's charismatic Middle Eastern marketing head Wael Ghonim took leave from his job to help catalyze the Egyptian revolution. And Keane, meanwhile, became the CEO of web publishing company Associated Content before selling it to Yahoo (YHOO) for $100 million last summer.

    There are plenty of less-than-stellar performances, though. Tim Armstrong is perhaps the company's best-known flameout. The former Google sales boss has so far failed to stem the bleeding at the perpetually struggling AOL (AOL). He brought in and then canned former Googlers like head of ad sales Jeff Levick and head of media David Eun. The company has sputtered from strategy to strategy after early efforts to apply a Google-like focus on data failed.

    Others might have just picked the wrong company. Margo Georgiadis, Google's former VP of global sales, spent just five months as the COO of Groupon (GRPN) before returning to the search giant as the head of ad sales and operations in the America's. In 2008 Southeast Asia sales chief Richard Kimber became the CEO of Friendster – which despite its tarnished reputation stateside -- was later sold to Malaysian company MOL global, and is now a gaming site. Elsewhere, some blogs have been less than kind to some former marketing execs, and some startups end poorly.

    Given the challenges of working elsewhere -- no free food, no climbing wall -- why would an employee leave at all? Google is consistently in Fortune's top 5 best companies to work for ranking, and the company has recently been hiking salaries in an effort to stem brain drain to competitors like Facebook. (The company declined to comment for this story.)

    Non-engineers at the company face unique roadblocks, for one. Decision-making is famously numbers-based, and the leadership has traditionally disdained advertising. An intensely quantitative culture can make it difficult for sales staff (or any non-engineer) to get noticed.

    And then there's the draw of the startup. Many simply feel they can make a bigger name for themselves faster by leaving Mountain View. There's a high demand for sales folk as well as marketing employees. "People that have been with Google for a few years on the marketing side are highly sought after," says David Voss, COO of Silicon Valley executive staffing firm Foxhunt. "I'd say in the top 1%."

    Says former Googler Keane, "Google's a good place to poach sales talent. There's a good farm club." Ex-Googlers led enterprises tend to command more attention from the media and investors alike. Plus, it's hard to pass up the chance to be the top dog at a growing company, even one not as iconic as Google. "There's something very satisfying about having the ultimate authority," Keane says.

    Of course, many ex-Google employees have yet to meet success or failure. There are former Google marketing or sales employees at promising startups including (but not limited to) FriendFeed, Media6Degrees, Factual and Edo Interactive. Other sales staffers left for spots at the likes of LimeWire and web video startup Veoh, which was bought while on the brink of bankruptcy. For now, whether they turn out more like Sheryl Sandberg or Tim Armstrong is anyone's guess.