Morning Talk with Google’s Eric Schmidt

Eric’s Talk

Eric Schmidt: Good morning and thank you to MBC and Yonsei.

There is nothing I care more about than education. Education solves all problems

Koreans are intense and fast. They don’t accept anything unless it’s perfect.

(They have a) great sense of humor.

I met the most famous guy in the world

This is typical Korea. It has already turned my visit with Psy into a phenomenon.

Now Korea is leading the world in smart phones. 4 years ago that was not the case. Now they use the most advanced phones, and 85% are running on Android.

Korea has the highest penetration of smart phone use and internet connectivity. What’s not to like about Korea?

10 years ago Korea made a bet on broadband and released the power of the young people. The quality of work and broadband met the need for Koreans to do things quickly. Korean businesses now have a global presence.

When you wake up in the morning, what do you? Check your phone.

Before you go to sleep? Check your phone.

Wake up in the middle of the night? Check your phone.

If you’re awake you’re online. The fact is that the world is so connected.

Moderator: Psy is the perfect example of that.

Eric Schmidt: The interesting thing about Psy is that he had been working for 12 years, but K-Pop was not big outside of Korea and maybe Japan. Now YouTube brings music to the world.

The characteristics of entrepreneurs are that they are visionaries. Smart, educated, and take risks. That’s Korea. You can go to med school or law school and then create your start ups.  You’re young, you have less to lose and you can try new things. Innovation occurs with young people because they have less to lose and they can try new things. Really disruptive things come from other areas and from passion. There is no better group than the people in front of me. When you are older and settled with kids, you can’t take those risks.

Moderator: I read your column. “How to Win in a Networked Age.”

Eric Schmidt: It is traditional for older people to criticize the behavior of young people. They’ll say you spend all your time online but they don’t understand what you’re doing. When I was growing up I read books and watched TV. What you’re doing is living in a networked age, more connected than I was.

I just remembered, I came here to announce this product Nexus 7. It’s a tablet and people seem to like it. It is a particularly effective communication device. It is a very powerful web platform.

Panel Q&A Time

Soo-Jin from Ewha(이화여대 국제대학원 정수진): When you were in college what did you dream of becoming? Did you expect to be a CEO?

Eric Schmidt: No! I thought it would be stupid to be a CEO. I was a programmer and this is when the computer scene was quite small. I had the same personality as now, but there was no connectivity at Berkeley.  I really loved what I was doing. If you want to be a CEO, love what you are doing and do it well and use what you learn as a series of stepping stones. This served me well later.

Moderator: What was your first job?

Eric Schmidt: I worked at Xerox research lab.

Moderator: Do you still remember your first task?

Eric Schmidt: I wrote a program that is actually still in use. I was a computer nerd. This generation of programmers is much better because they start so young

Ji-hee from Yonsei(연세대 UIC 한지희): A lot of college students are not trying to push themselves out of their comfort zones. They fear risk of failure.

Eric Schmidt: I think that has always been true. Most people don’t take the risk. For example, I did not take those risks, but now I work with gifted young founders.

I bet every one of you knows a friend who is absolutely brilliant but crazy. Hang out with them. They will not do normal things, they will do something special.

Dae-hyun from Yonsei(연세대 컴퓨터학과 이대현): You said you didn’t want to be a CEO. What made you shift your career from programming to managing?

Eric Schmidt: The good news or bad news is that as you get older you won’t be as good of a programmer as you are now. But you’ll understand people better. It is an honor to lead the programmers. The shift comes naturally. I like people and like technology and ultimately, it is a privilege to lead, whether in politics, at a university, or a corporation

Hyun-ha from SungKyunKwan(성균관대 박현하): I really want to work for Google. So what should I prepare for?

Eric Schmidt: We can pick from the best and the brightest. We like to hire people who are smart and curious. It depends on your area, but we like you to be unusual. Anything that pushes you into a special hobby tends to make you better.

Jung-gyun from Yonsei(연세대 경영대 이정균): I’m studying business and I’m the founder of a startup. How can I create a company like Google?

Eric Schmidt: The good or bad news is that a lot comes down to luck. It needs hard work and your application has to work. It’s helpful to have investment money.

Ji-hee from Yonsei(연세대 UIC 한지희): A lot of students aim to be a global leader. However, it is a term that is difficult to define. How do you define a global leader?

Eric Schmidt: The world is a very big place and you need to see it. You have to go around the world. You can’t just watch TV. Get a passport and go see the world. People are pretty much the same everywhere. They care about the same things. So I encourage mutual respect. As you graduate, don’t think just Korea. Think about Korea and the rest of the world. Make programs available in multiple languages.

Soo-Jin from Ewha(이화여대 국제대학원 정수진): How do you define your leadership style?

Eric Schmidt: There is not a single method that works. The best thing is to try to be yourself because people see through an inauthentic leader. Communicate your thoughts in your own style. Some leaders are loud and funny, others are quiet. But all good leaders show that they care about what they are doing.

My leadership style is to have conversations, to get the facts right, and have an argument. If everybody says yes, then you don’t get a good decision.

Audience Q&A Time

Questions: What technology will Google focus on in 10 years?

Eric Schmidt: 10 years? We have trouble focusing on 5 years.

Many countries in 10 years will have what Korea has now. Everybody will have low cost smart phones and we will hear from other people. The change will be that technology disappears. It will be seamless. When you wake up, you will get the news. There will be driverless cars. And technology will help you decide what to do at work, at home and with your friends. And I hope Google is there to help with that

Questions: When you have difficulty making a decision how do you organize your thoughts?

Eric Schmidt: There are many decisions that are very difficult. Talk to your friends and take the time to think about it. There is a myth of the lone decision maker. But the best decisions are collaborative. Stop and talk to others and come to a consensus. And argue. Research shows that decisions are made better by groups under pressure than individuals under the same pressure.

Question: For those of us who want to start our own business, is it valuable to get corporate experience first or should we do it straight out of school?

Eric Schmidt: Both paths can work, but if you want to get a corporate job then don’t do it for long. Some people need to learn more but others feel that they are right from the beginning.

Question: I would like to hear your thoughts about young Korean students. For young people who are having difficulty to achieve their goals, can you give some advice?

Eric Schmidt: 20-30 years ago, it was not easier. There were all the same issues. Although it is hard now, it was hard before. For me, I had a great faculty who were always there to listen to me. My advice is to get some real experience in the world

Question: My question is about translation. What does Google think about the translating industry?

Eric Schmidt: Translation is magic. Google is the leader of this field and our goal is to be able to translate 100 languages into 100 languages. In the future, we want to do this with voice so that you can speak into a phone and it will come out in another language.

Moderator: Do you have any last words for the students?

Eric Schmidt: What I would like people to appreciate is that “Yes” is a very powerful word. Try to say “yes” to things. “Yes” is a very powerful way to live your life. It is how you get your next job, your wife. If you live by saying yes you will have a good life and a great time.

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