Shift in Google's Strategy... New Level 5 Leader?

As I was cruising around on the Wall Street Journal's homepage, I noticed an interesting article concerning the internet giant Google. Instead of relating this to Porter's 5 forces or the Profit Pools models, I decided this was an excellent example of Jim Collins's idea of a shift to a possible level 5 leader. As you can read in this WSJ article, long-time CEO Eric Schmidt will be replaced by one of Google's co-founders, Larry Page. The article then gives a brief description of this new CEO-to-be.

The writer describes Larry Page as follows:

Mr. Page is an introvert who keeps a low public profile and sticks to the product side of the business, taking the lead on the company's biggest product initiatives. Since the birth of a child in recent years, he has adopted an even lower profile outside Google, according to several Silicon Valley executives.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704881304576094340081291776.html#ixzz1BgvdoMlH

This to me, remember, I'm clearly on the outside, seems like a classic description of a Level 5 Leader, as described by Jim Collins in his book Good to Great. Now I don't necessarily want to turn this into a prophecy, but if it's correct, I'll definitely call it such, but I think this could be a big step for the sustained success of Google. I'm not suggesting that Google needs to move from "good to great," by any means. I think most people would agree that Google is already a great company. I do think, however, that this is a move in the right direction to truly sustain Google's greatness, which would, by Collins's definition, make Google "Great." This is only my idea of what could happen, given this shift. Remember, I'm on the outside, using my perspective and resources, and merely interpreting what i observe.


From the Outside...