Key facts
- Claire Stapleton, a former Google communications specialist, has authored a new book titled 'Don't Be Evil.'
- The book details her disillusionment with Google's corporate culture and alleged departure from its founding ideals.
- Stapleton was an organizer of the 2018 Google employee walkout.
- She claims her demotion after the walkout was retaliation, leading to her resignation.
- A key turning point identified in the book is Larry Page's transition to CEO in 2011.
Claire Stapleton, a former Google communications specialist, has detailed her journey from company loyalist to critic in her new book, 'Don't Be Evil: Bad Bosses, Fake Promises, and My Escape from Big Tech.' Stapleton, who joined Google in 2007, describes her initial experience as akin to receiving 'the golden ticket,' but her perspective shifted over her twelve years with the company.
She was a prominent organizer of the 2018 global walkout, where 20,000 employees protested the company's handling of sexual misconduct allegations and other grievances. Six months after the walkout, Stapleton resigned, alleging she was demoted in retaliation for her activism. She describes her departure as a 'traumatic ending' after a long tenure.
Stapleton identifies Larry Page's succession of Eric Schmidt as CEO in 2011 as a critical turning point that fundamentally altered Google's corporate culture. She argues that despite Page's rhetoric about innovation and solving world problems, the company became more corporate, complex, and inefficient, likening it to a 'bloated borg' that sought to emulate Apple's branding.
This shift, according to Stapleton, led to failed innovations like Google+ and a culture where 'radical accountability' meant individual employees absorbed blame, and questioning authority was discouraged. She notes that HR functions, intended to constrain managerial power, became ineffective, with managers gaining too much control. Stapleton also observes a broader disillusionment within the tech industry, where employees no longer universally see themselves as 'the good guys.'