Always work hard on something uncomfortably exciting!
Larry PageRead
Lots of companies don’t succeed over time. What do they fundamentally do wrong? They usually miss the future. I try to focus on that: What is the future really going to be? And how do we create it? And how do we power our organization to really focus on that and really drive it at a high rate? When I was working on Android, I felt guilty. It wasn’t what we were working on, it was a start-up, and I felt guilty. That was stupid! It was the future.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of anticipating the future for long-term success in business.
Larry Page reflects on the need for companies to embrace and prepare for the future to ensure their success over time. He suggests that many organizations fail because they lose sight of future opportunities and underscores the necessity of driving focus and innovation within teams to create and shape the future, citing his experience with Android as an example of working on a forward-thinking project despite feelings of guilt about its status.
Themes
FutureSuccessInnovationBusinessLeadership
In practice
Example use cases
In a business seminar discussing the importance of innovation, this quote could illustrate the necessity of forward-thinking.
More from Larry Page
All quotes →Technology should do the hard work, so you can get on and live your life. We're only at one percent of what's possible, and we're moving slow relative to the opportunity we have.
Larry PageRead
Always deliver more than expected.
Larry PageRead
You don't need to have a 100-person company to develop that idea.
Larry PageRead
I like going to Burning Man, for example. An environment where people can try new things. I think as technologists we should have some safe places where we can try out new things and figure out the effect on society. What's the effect on people, without having to deploy it to the whole world.
Larry PageRead
Excellence matters, and technology advances so fast that the potential for improvement is tremendous. So, since becoming CEO again, I've pushed hard to increase our velocity, improve our execution, and focus on the big bets that will make a difference in the world.
Larry PageRead
Similar quotes
There's a long way to fall when you pretend that you're so far away from the earth, far away from reality, floating in a bubble that's protected by fame or success. It's scary, and it's the thing I fear the most: to be swallowed up by that bubble. It can be poison to you, fame.
RihannaRead
I am a lucky man. I have had a dream and it has come true, and that is not a thing that happens often to men.
Edmund HillaryRead
Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.
ConfuciusRead
As quickly as it started, our business model evaporated. But while Traf-O-Data was technically a business failure, the understanding of microprocessors we absorbed was crucial to our future success.
Paul AllenRead
Success.. is all about being able to extend love to people... not in a big, capital letter sense but in the everyday. Little by little, task by task, gesture by gesture, word by word.
Ralph FiennesRead
Once you can accept failure, you can have fun and success.
Rickey HendersonRead