The Four

totally convinced—in a classic high-tech industry mistake—that what
was also luck, timing, and success was, in fact, genius. Then, when
Microsoft went public, and longtime employees began to vest their
stock options, they left by the thousands to pursue that genius—to very
mixed results.
Finally, when the SEC and the Justice Department came calling,
and Microsoft continued to crush one exciting young company after
another, it suddenly became embarrassing to admit you worked for the
Evil Empire. The result was that Microsoft suffered a massive loss of
intellectual capital as old talent left and young talent no longer wanted
to work there. Suddenly, even when Microsoft had a good product
idea, it no longer seemed to be able to execute on it. It was as if the
brain was willing, but the arms and legs no longer worked. Even Bill
Gates took off to save the world.
Google isn’t Microsoft—yet. The search firm still boasts the
greatest assembly of IQ in history. Google employees don’t just know
they are smarter than anyone else—they are. The company famously
expects employees to devote 10 percent of their workweek to coming
up with new ideas—so wouldn’t you expect to see a lot more
interesting stuff coming from 60,000 geniuses?
Ultimately, however, it may not matter. The internet isn’t going
anywhere, and Google will likely continue to grow—accelerate, more
likely—in its core business. Our quest for knowledge can never be
sated. And Google has a monopoly on prayer, when your gaze is turned
downward.