“Day-to-day adult supervision is no longer needed” is a very short explanation of the change happening at Google. Yesterday, the general press reported CEO Eric E. Schmidt will be stepping down and co-founder Larry Page will take the spot. Schmidt’s response to the newsbreak was the opening quote via twitter; alluding to the purpose of his 10 year appointment and his resignation from the position. According to “In Google Shake-Up, an Effort to Revive Start-Up Spark” by Claire Cain Miller and Miguel Helft, Schmidt was appointed to bring more management to an environment run by the young founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Schmidt brought management experience while Page was president of products and Brin was president of technology. The article reports throughout the 10 years, the founders sometimes clashed with Schmidt. In the past couple of years, his grown-up management style may have driven away young talented engineers looking for a company still motivated like a start up. But he did provide a professional model of running a company and helped Google to its success and increased value.
This CEO change may not be about hostility. Page and Brin were in their late 20s when they founded Google and are now in their late 30s. If Schmidt’s tweet was written with honesty, then this is about allowing grown ups to be grown ups and show what they have learned from Schmidt. Schmidt will not be leaving the company; he will be the executive chairman when Page steps up in April.
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