The Googler's edge: Do you need it?
An open-plan office like Google's Singapore outfit may not be a guaranteed lifeline of creativity and innovation for every organisation.
WE recently chatted with an ex-Googler who was establishing an online-to-offline (O2O) digital platform that would lure online customers to make purchases at brick-and-mortar stores.
When we asked him if Googlers were indeed smarter than most people, he deferred to the book Are you smart enough to work at Google? by William Poundstone. The American author described how brainteasers and puzzles were used by Google to sieve out aspiring contenders who were creative, methodical and articulate, even under pressure.
As an example, the O2O founder piqued our interest with a classic physicist Enrico Fermi problem that challenged us to estimate "How many basketballs would fill a school bus"? It instantly became a hit at our soiree.
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