How the ‘20% time’ rule led to Google’s most innovative products

Did you know that some of the most iconic Google products start out as side products?

On this debut episode of “Masters of Scale,” former Google CEO Eric Schmidt discusses the company’s 20 percent time rule — a policy that allows employees to work on whatever they want for 20 percent of their time on the job. Not only does this policy inspire innovative projects, it also serves as a checks and balance system between unreasonable managers and reasonable employees.

“[It] empowers the employee with both dignity, but also some choices,” says Schmidt.  Read more…

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