Google's Ex senior Engineer says Google could no longer innovate

Yesterday, senior Google engineer Steve Yegge wrote a blog post (January 23), about his decision to quit the Google.  Yegge wrote: "The main reason I left Google is that they can no longer innovate. They've pretty much lost that ability. I believe there are several contributing factors.  First, they're conservative: They are so focused on protecting what they've got, that they fear risk-taking and real innovation. Gatekeeping and risk aversion at Google are the norm rather the exception." Second, they are mired in politics, which is sort of inevitable with a large enough organization.  Third, Google is arrogant. It has taken me years to understand that a company full of humble individuals can still be an arrogant company. When a company is as dramatically successful as Google has been, the organization can become afflicted with a sense of invincibility and almost manifest destiny, which leads to tragic outcomes: complacency, not-invented-here syndrome, loss of touch with customers, poor strategic decision-making. The company's strategy is a mess.  Fourth, last, and probably worst of all, Google has become 100% competitor-focused rather than customer focused. They've made a weak attempt to pivot from this, with their new internal slogan 'Focus on the user and all else will follow.' But unfortunately, it's just lip service.