This Is How Google Actually Decides Who To Hire (GOOG) | ||
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Big companies like to hire the best staff. And that leaves employers in difficult situations, as they ponder which candidate to pick for the limited number of positions they have. This isn't a problem at Google: it simply hires them all. It has to: Google has about 55,000 employees and adds about 6,000 each year. So when it finds talent, it isn't picky. As the Globe and Mail points out, Google's "secret" is to basically bring in all — as in 100% of — the best talent it can find. The revelation comes from the new "How Google Works" book, written by executive chairman and past CEO Eric Schmidt, and former Senior Vice President of Products, Jonathan Rosenberg. It's a treasure trove of management advice. On the hiring process, Rosenberg explains the idea to go with quantity arrived after he talked to a group of Rhodes Scholars and was trying to decide which of the "exceptional group" he should ask to come in for a full interview. Company founder Sergey Brin told him to "offer them all jobs," writes the Globe and Mail. Brin suggested: "why decide at all?" Rosenberg did just that and apparently many went on to be brilliant. The authors also say that hiring is the most important thing any executive can do — and add those at the top shouldn't leave it to others. "The higher up you go in most organisations," they write, "the more detached the executives get from the hiring process. The inverse should be true." Both Rosenberg and Schmidt feel employing fresh faces shouldn't be left to middle men, who might not be in the same position for long and may even be worried about new staff usurping them in their aspirations to climb higher. As the Globe and Mail notes, Google follows an academic model, which uses a peer-based approach. The book even argues against the rule of hiring people you want to have a beer with and suggests that actually, while some people might be difficult to get along with, they're good at their job and shouldn't be overlooked. Ultimately, the How Google Works reveals the company employs people "not for the knowledge they possess, but for the things they don't know yet." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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One Of The Men In Charge Of Apple Maps Has Left For Uber (AAPL) | ||
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The man tasked with bringing Apple Maps to the iPhone and Apple Watch has quit the company to join Uber. 9to5Mac is reporting that Brad Moore left Apple last month. Previously, he worked as Senior Engineering Manager, Maps Apps & Community, where he oversaw the creation of Apple Maps, as well as the teams who worked to release the software on iPhone, iPad, Mac and the upcoming Apple Watch. But according to his LinkedIn profile, Moore is now working at ride app Uber as Engineering Manager, Mobile Core Experience. He claims to manage the engineering teams working on the company's core apps for riders and drivers. It's also reported that "a number of exits" have taken place in Apple's Maps team. The division has had a tough ride in the past few years, after the launch of Maps in 2012 was criticised for inaccurate data and misleading directions. Here's what the 3D map feature looked like after launch:
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Uber Would Be Valued At $40 Billion In New Round, Report Says | ||
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Uber is close to raising a new round of funding that would value it between $35 billion and $40 billion, according to Bloomberg. T. Rowe Price is said to be among the new investors. The valuation matches what Business Insider's Henry Blodget heard from a source last week. It would be a massive leap in valuation for the transportation company, which was valued at $18 billion in its previous round just this summer. The company has been embroiled in controversy recently, after one of its executives suggested hiring investigators to dig up dirt on journalists. But an internal presentation from late 2013 shows the company well on its way to making $1.5 billion to $2 billion in gross revenue this year. Revenues on New Year's Eve grew more than 4x between 2012 and 2013.
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These Mesmerizing Time-Lapse Maps Show How Startups Are Transforming Major Cities | ||
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San Francisco is being flooded with startup funding. Rents are sky high, newly-formed companies are offering lavish perks, and storefronts across the city are transforming. Zillabyte software engineer Nikhil Karnik decided to analyze exactly how this growth has changed the city, as well as several other startup hotbeds such as New York and Austin, in a series of interactive maps. Using Zillabyte, a framework for high-end data analysis, and the Crunchbase API, he created time-lapse visualizations of venture funding rounds for each city. The results are captivating. Bubble sizes correspond to the total amount of funding raised, and the sample size for each city is limited to 1000 companies. Here's San Francisco:
It's clear that San Francisco has been flooded with venture capital, but Karnik’s maps show exactly where the big venture-funded startups are taking root. For instance, you can see why rent in SOMA — the upper-right hand corner of the map — is so expensive. Next, check out New York:
Karnik’s timelapse of funding rounds in New York City is limited to Manhattan, but you can see that startup growth since 2009 has been relatively steady compared to San Francisco’s relative explosion. Startups seem to prefer hip downtown neighborhoods such as SoHo or the Flatiron, as opposed to more traditional midtown. Finally, let's take a look at Austin: Austin’s growth appears to be scattered across city limits, though many startups do line major roads and freeways. Karnik notes that his methodology isn’t perfect. Cities have very different histories and social dynamics that can either foster or stifle entrepreneurship, and he would like to look at population growth and development versus the rate of venture funding to gain further insights. He's curious how much changing demographics in large urban areas correlate with the latest tech boom and if it's possible to pinpoint "up and coming" startup hubs using this type of analysis. In the meantime, for more maps and a technical explanation of his methodology, check out Karnik's full blog post. SEE ALSO: Look How Much San Francisco Has Changed In 3 Years Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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This Is How Google Actually Decides Who To Hire (GOOG) | ||
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Big companies like to hire the best staff. And that leaves employers in difficult situations, as they ponder which candidate to pick for the limited number of positions they have. This isn't a problem at Google: it simply hires them all. It has to: Google has about 55,000 employees and adds about 6,000 each year. So when it finds talent, it isn't picky. As the Globe and Mail points out, Google's "secret" is to basically bring in all — as in 100% of — the best talent it can find. The revelation comes from the new "How Google Works" book, written by executive chairman and past CEO Eric Schmidt, and former Senior Vice President of Products, Jonathan Rosenberg. It's a treasure trove of management advice. On the hiring process, Rosenberg explains the idea to go with quantity arrived after he talked to a group of Rhodes Scholars and was trying to decide which of the "exceptional group" he should ask to come in for a full interview. Company founder Sergey Brin told him to "offer them all jobs," writes the Globe and Mail. Brin suggested: "why decide at all?" Rosenberg did just that and apparently many went on to be brilliant. The authors also say that hiring is the most important thing any executive can do — and add those at the top shouldn't leave it to others. "The higher up you go in most organisations," they write, "the more detached the executives get from the hiring process. The inverse should be true." Both Rosenberg and Schmidt feel employing fresh faces shouldn't be left to middle men, who might not be in the same position for long and may even be worried about new staff usurping them in their aspirations to climb higher. As the Globe and Mail notes, Google follows an academic model, which uses a peer-based approach. The book even argues against the rule of hiring people you want to have a beer with and suggests that actually, while some people might be difficult to get along with, they're good at their job and shouldn't be overlooked. Ultimately, the How Google Works reveals the company employs people "not for the knowledge they possess, but for the things they don't know yet." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Halifax And Bank Of Scotland Punished Bankers With Cabbages If They Didn't Sell 'Toxic' Loans | ||
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Before the financial crisis, UK banking had a "sales culture", according to a report by the New City Agenda and Cass Business School, which led to banks booking too may toxic loans onto their balance sheets. That culture is "a set of organisational norms and practises that encourages employees to aggressively focus on making short term sales," according to the authors. And, perhaps strangely, it highlights that at least two incidents in which high-pressure workplace culture involved cabbages (emphasis added):
This ruthless sales culture is blamed in part for the excesses running up to the 2008 financial crisis. Here's what the study says on that front:
But it's not quite sure how vegetables became so closely involved involved (this from the section of the report on Bank of Scotland):
It's much more popular to suggest investment banking was to blame for the crash in 2008, but there's a decent case that the big failures lay in bread-and-butter retail banking. Those are the issues that the New City Agenda is looking into. We would need a second report to address the next important question: Why cabbages? Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Passengers get out and push frozen Siberian plane | ||
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Moscow (AFP) - Siberian air passengers had to get out and push their plane in temperatures of minus 52 degrees Celsius after its chassis froze, Russian prosecutors said Wednesday. The extraordinary story emerged after a passenger posted a video on YouTube showing a group of cheery travellers pushing the Tupolev plane on the snow-covered runway in Igarka, which is beyond the Arctic Circle. "Let's go," passengers in thick winter coats shout and whoop as they put their hands on the wings of the plane and shove it several metres along the runway. "Everyone wants to go home," one man says. Transport prosecutors in western Siberia said they were investigating the incident, which took place on Tuesday. "Due to the low air temperatures, the chassis's brake system froze and a tow truck was unable to move the plane onto the taxiway to carry out the flight," prosecutors confirmed in a statement. "The passengers on board got out of the plane and started pushing it onto the taxiway." Even for Russians inured to long winters of sub-zero temperatures, the passengers' can-do chutzpah has drawn awed admiration. "Siberians are so tough that for them pushing a frozen plane along a runway is a piece of cake," said Komsomolskaya Pravda daily. Social media too was abuzz with praise for the passengers. The plane with 74 passengers on board was being operated by a Siberian airline called Katekavia which is part of UTair group. It was flying from Igarka, around 1,750 miles (2,800 kilometres) northeast of Moscow, to the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. The technical director of Krasnoyarsk-based Katekavia, Vladimir Artemenko, acknowledged the incident took place to Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily. "That morning it was minus 52 (minus 61 Fahrenheit). The plane had stood on the runway for 24 hours and the pilots forgot to take off the parking brake. That caused the brake pads to freeze up," he said. Passengers pushed the plane until it was able to turn and then the tow truck took over, he said. The flight then took off and went smoothly. In 2012 a UTair plane crashed in Siberia, killing 29, after the wings were not de-iced. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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One Of The Men In Charge Of Apple Maps Has Left For Uber (AAPL) | ||
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The man tasked with bringing Apple Maps to the iPhone and Apple Watch has quit the company to join Uber. 9to5Mac is reporting that Brad Moore left Apple last month. Previously, he worked as Senior Engineering Manager, Maps Apps & Community, where he oversaw the creation of Apple Maps, as well as the teams who worked to release the software on iPhone, iPad, Mac and the upcoming Apple Watch. But according to his LinkedIn profile, Moore is now working at ride app Uber as Engineering Manager, Mobile Core Experience. He claims to manage the engineering teams working on the company's core apps for riders and drivers. It's also reported that "a number of exits" have taken place in Apple's Maps team. The division has had a tough ride in the past few years, after the launch of Maps in 2012 was criticised for inaccurate data and misleading directions. Here's what the 3D map feature looked like after launch:
Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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England opt to field in Sri Lanka one-dayer | ||
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Colombo (AFP) - England captain Alastair Cook won the toss and sent Sri Lanka in to bat in overcast conditions in the first one-day international in Colombo on Wednesday. The match will be played over 50-overs-a-side despite an hour's delay due to bad weather at the Premadasa stadium. The teams are to play seven one-dayers in preparation for the World Cup that takes place in Australia and New Zealand in February-March. England: Alastair Cook (capt), Moeen Ali, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, James Tredwell, Harry Gurney. Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Dhammika Prasad, Rangana Herath, Ajantha Mendis. Umpires: Simon Fry (AUS) and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SRI) TV umpire: Steve Davis (AUS) Match referee: David Boon (AUS) Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The Mansion Tax Could Keep Angelina Jolie Out Of London | ||
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Angelina Jolie has stormed onto the British political scene, revealing that Labour's proposed mansion tax could prevent her from moving to London, the Telegraph reported. Jolie, who described herself as "quite fond of England," was speaking to John Snow of Channel 4 when she said that the tax "could put her off." Rumours spread over the weekend that Jolie and her husband Brad Pitt were looking for a mansion in Marylebone, the central London borough called "the coolest place on the planet." But in a previous interview Pitt himself had raised an issue with the British tax system. "It is good fun here. Still... work on the tax issues," he said to the Sunday Times. Labour's mansion tax, that would hit properties valued at least £2 million ($3.15 million), is said to interest 110,000 properties in the country, 86,000 of these in London alone. In the last few years, Jolie has forged a close friendship with William Hague, the Tory politician and former UK Secretary of State at the Foreign Office. The actress and the politician worked together on a campaign to end violence against women in conflict zones. Jolie has also confirmed she would quit her acting career to dedicate more time to her campaigning activity, leaving the door open to a political future. She would enter politics "if I felt I would really make a difference," she said to ITV. You can see the whole interview with Jon Snow here. The passage about the mansion tax is at the very end:Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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10 Things You Need To Know Before European Markets Open (DIA, SPY, SPX, QQQ, USO, OIL) | ||
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Saudi Arabia Signals No Oil Cuts Are Coming. "OPEC leader Saudi Arabia signaled on Wednesday it was unlikely to push for a major change in oil output at the producer group's meeting this week, a day after Russia refused to cooperate in any production cut," Reuters' Alex Lawler and Amena Bakr reported. "Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said he expected the oil market 'to stabilize itself eventually' but did not comment on talks with Russia held on Tuesday, which produced no firm pledge from Moscow to help support flagging oil prices." Oil Prices Barely Budge. Brent crude oil prices are at $78.64 per barrel, up 0.4%. WTI crude oil prices are at $74.19, up 0.1%. Prices are right near 4-year lows. Europe's Juncker Has A Plan For Growth. "European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker presented a plan on Wednesday to leverage some 300 billion euros ($375 billion) of largely private new investmentin the European Union, saying it was time to kick-start growth without adding to public debt," Reuters' Jan Strupczewski reported. "Underlining the need to maintain efforts at structural reforms of aging economies and pare back debt and deficits run up during the financial crisis, the EU's new chief executive told the European Parliament in Strasbourg that his plan would be the third leg of a strategy to get Europeans back to work." The UK Is Humming. UK GDP grew 0.7% in Q3, which reflects 3.0% year-over-year growth. "The broader picture of the recovery is one of employment-led growth as spare capacity is absorbed," Bloomberg economists Jamie Murray and Niraj Shah wrote. "The Bank of England sees only limited scope for this type of growth before inflationary pressures begin to build — putting the margin of slack at about 1% of GDP. Productivity growth, the only sustainable way for living standards to improve in the long term, has been very limited in the UK for the past 5 years." HP Comes Right In Line With Expectations. HP's Q4 earnings were right in line with expectations, while revenue missed by a rounding error. "I'm excited to say that HP's turnaround continues on track," CEO Meg Whitman said. HP Execs Hint That More Layoffs Are Coming. HP has laid off 41,000 people (with about 9,000 people left to go) under its current downsizing plan for 2014. On Tuesday, the company hinted that more layoffs could be coming with its plans to separate itself into two huge companies. Markets Are Up. In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 is up 0.2%, France's CAC 40 is flat, and Germany's DAX is up 0.7%. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei closed down 0.1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed up 1.1%. Dow futures are up 17 points and S&P futures are up 2 points. Uber Will Be Valued At $40 Billion In New Round Of Funding. Uber is close to raising a new round of funding that would value it between $35 and $40 billion, according to Bloomberg. T. Rowe Price is said to be among the new investors. Samsung Just Sold Off Stakes In Chemical And Defence Units For $1.7 Billion. Samsung Group said on Wednesday it is selling stakes in defence firm Samsung Techwin Co and three other units for 1.9 trillion won ($1.72 billion) to Hanwha Group units. Management also announced a $2 billion share buyback plan, the first buyback plan since 2007. Here Comes Data. There's a ton of US economic data being released today. Durable goods, personal income and spending, and jobless claims come at 8:30 a.m. ET. That'll be followed by the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index at 9:45 a.m. and Univ. of Michigan Consumer Confidence at 9:55 a.m. At 10 a.m., we'll get pending home sales and new home sales. Check out Business Insider's Monday Scouting Report for the full preview. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Good morning! Here are the major stories to be aware of before markets open in the US.