Google CEO Sundar Pichai's advice to young people is to work with those who outshine you
CEO Sundar Pichai, who turns 53 today, recently celebrated two decades with the tech giant. Reflecting on his career, he offered advice to younger workers who want to become leaders someday. He encouraged them to work with others who outshine them.
Today—Tuesday, June 10—one of the world's most significant leaders in tech turns 53. During Sundar Pichai's two-decade career with Google, he's worked on many of the company's major products including Google Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps, and Chromebook. In 2019, he became CEO of Alphabet and its subsidiary Google. His current net worth is estimated at about $1.1 billion.
As one of the most powerful leaders in tech, Pichai recently reflected on how he got to where he is in his career. On a recent podcast by Podium VC, he said it took 'a lot of luck along the way,' but added 'it's important to listen to your heart and see whether you actually enjoy doing it.'
While Pichai sits at the helm of one of the largest tech companies in the world, his path to the top wasn't a completely smooth ride. His advice to young people who aspire to be in leadership positions like him someday is to surround themselves with people who outshine them.
'At various points in my life, I worked with people who I felt were better than me,' Pichai said. 'Get yourself in a position where you're working with people who you feel are stretching your abilities. [It's] what helps you grow. [Put] yourself in uncomfortable situations. I think often you'll surprise yourself.'
Pichai was born and raised in Chennai, India, to a father who was an electrical engineer and a mother who worked as a stenographer. They were considered to be a middle-class family; Pichai told Yahoo Finance he was fortunate to have grown up in a household where education was valued.
He said he had minimal access to computers growing up—and even recalled being on a waitlist for five years to get a rotary phone. He said experiencing technology for the first time changed his life.
'It was a vivid moment for me as to how access to technology can make a difference,' Pichai told Yahoo Finance, adding that his limited exposure to computers during childhood is something he's carried with him throughout his career, serving as inspiration for the rollout of Chromebooks to students in the U.S.
Pichai moved to the U.S. in 1993 to earn his master's degree in materials science from Stanford University in the heart of Silicon Valley. He briefly worked for a semiconductor materials company after graduating, but then went back to school to earn his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Pichai had a brief stint at McKinsey & Co. after earning his MBA and landing at Google in 2004.
'I think it's tough to find things you love doing, but I think listening to your heart a bit more than your mind [helps] in terms of figuring out what you want to do,' Pichai said during the podcast.
Reflecting on 20 years at Google in April 2024, Pichai said a lot had changed about the company since he first joined, like the technology, the number of people who use Google products, and his hair.
'What hasn't changed—the thrill I get from working at this amazing company,' Pichai wrote in an Instagram post. '20 years in, I'm still feeling lucky.'
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Engadget
35 minutes ago
- Engadget
Apple's iOS 26 requires kids to get parental permission to text new numbers
As part of new updates to its parental controls announced at WWDC 25, Apple has introduced a new feature that requires kids to get permission to text new numbers. That's among other new child safety settings including more granular age-based app ratings that will be introduced to the new iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, visionOS 26, and tvOS 26 operating systems coming this fall, Apple announced. The new feature called Communication Limits (part of Child Accounts) gives parents the ability to manage their kids communications across Messages, FaceTime, calling and iCloud contacts. Children must send a request to their parents when they want to contact a new phone number and parents can then give approval with a single tape in Messages. Developers can include the new function in third-party apps using Apple's PermissionKit framework. Another new child-friendly feature is more granular age-based ratings for apps to help parents decide which are safe for their kids to use. By the end of 2025, those will expand to five categories including three for adolescents: 13+, 16+ and 18+. When parents set app content restrictions, apps that exceed those will not appear on the App Store — though kids can request exemptions if the Ask to Buy setting is enabled. Apple already employs safety features like web content filters and app restrictions for kids under 13, but it will now enforce "similar age-appropriate" protections for teens between 13 and 17. The company will also let parents give apps a child's age range without disclosing their exact date of birth. Finally, the Communication Safety tool has been expanded to intervene when it detects nudity in FaceTime video calls and it will blur out nudity in Shared Albums in Photos. Apple's changes follow in the heels of new age-verification laws enacted in Texas, Utah and and other states. Google, for one, opposed the Utah bill, but Meta and other app makers have called for legislation that would require app stores to get parental approval before their teens download any app — effectively offloading the responsibility to Apple, Google and others. If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.
Android Authority
38 minutes ago
- Android Authority
When I share files, I skip right past Quick Share and use this app instead
Andy Walker / Android Authority Sharing files across Android and other devices can be tedious. Although Quick Share has improved slightly since Samsung and Google collaborated, offering a larger feature set than ever, it often feels more cumbersome than convenient. I spend more time connecting to the recipient's phone than sending the file, which I don't appreciate. How often do you use Quick Share? 2 votes Daily. 50 % Once or twice a week. 50 % Once a month or less. 0 % I don't use it at all. 0 % So, faced with the constant challenge of sharing files from my Android phone to my desktop and my partner's phone, I changed my approach. Instead of using a USB cable or Quick Share, I now use LocalSend and wonder why I didn't switch sooner. Where Quick Share stumbles, LocalSend speeds away Andy Walker / Android Authority LocalSend is a free, open-source file-sharing platform that uses my local network to transfer files between my devices. As long as both devices have the app installed and are connected to the same network, I've experienced flawless transfers that complete in seconds. This makes it perfect for buzzing files across devices within the home environment, or really any location with a local network. And, as everything is done locally within your network, you can send almost anything. The app allows general files, clipboard transfers, simple text sends, entire folders, and even APKs. You can see the process for the latter below. Perhaps its greatest selling point is its cross-compatibility with major platforms. While I love the Android app's ease of use and simplicity, I've also loaded my desktop and laptop with the Windows version, allowing cable-free transfers of anything on my device. If there's a documentary I want to send to my phone, or a bunch of screenshots I need to send to my desktop, I can do so in mere seconds. LocalSend is also available for Linux distros and, notably, Apple platforms. I don't own an iPhone or a MacBook, but the app would be a must-install if I did. It reaches far beyond Quick Share. LocalSend's greatest selling point is its cross-compatibility with major platforms, including Android, Windows, and Apple OSes. It's also available as a web service if you want to try it out without installation or if you want to send a file to a home guest. Including a PIN for verifying transfers is a welcome addition, easing my security concerns when sending sensitive documents. The app also features Quick Save and Auto Finish options, which I enable between my phone and desktop to facilitate unattended transfers, significantly improving my workflow. Despite this extensive reach, setting it up is as simple as installing an app on the platform of your choice. Unlike other products, where you must set up network parameters and ports, LocalSend forgives my laziness and is as simple as install and go. While Quick Share struggles to locate devices right next to me, LocalSend excels at seamless transfers. One of my biggest gripes with Quick Share is its difficulty locating target devices. When trying to send a file to my partner via Quick Share, it takes several minutes to find her phone, though the transfer itself takes only seconds. I've encountered this problem with many other devices, leading me to lose trust in Google's service. With LocalSend, I can send files directly to her without locating her device each time — I just need to know the nickname the service assigns to her device. Additionally, LocalSend offers a multiple recipient feature for sending files to several devices at once. Quick Share still stars in some scenarios, but it's rarely ever needed Ryan Haines / Android Authority Of course, LocalSend isn't perfect in every situation. Its reliance on a local network is both its greatest strength and weakness. Sometimes, I can't use it to send files because neither of us is on a home or private network. However, I rarely need to transfer files in these situations, and when Quick Share inevitably fails, I turn to WhatsApp. It's a small price to pay for LocalSend's effectiveness in other scenarios. Quick Share remains my default choice for file sharing when I'm beyond the confines of a local network. However, LocalSend is indispensable in every other situation, and I can't imagine working or living without it.
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Google killed the classic 'Find your phone' tools, but don't worry, they're still alive
Google's Find My Device has evolved into the more capable Find Hub, but remnants of ancient phone-finding tools still exist. The still-live "Find your phone" Google Account settings page now recommends you "try calling your phone," which probably won't help anyone. All phone-finding tools have moved to the Find Hub, making the Find your phone page's continued existence redundant. Change can be great, especially when it's something like Google's Find My Device evolving into the increasingly capable Find Hub. But even when a service makes positive progress, you'll occasionally find head-scratching oversights or half-measures, and those can be confusing or downright misleading. That's the case with Google's latest step in migrating its former phone-finding controls to the new, comprehensive Find Hub. Google axed the long-standing method of finding a lost smartphone and ported the functionality over to the new app and web page, but the remnants of the old way remain. Somewhat amusingly, while the "Find your phone" settings page still exists, it now offers a single piece of advice: "try calling" it (Source: 9to5Google). You won't find the Find My Device app anymore, either — but it's only been rebranded to Find Hub. Starting in August 2021, a simple Google Search for "I lost my phone" led to a popup result directly from Google. As long as you performed the search while logged into your account, a single click would start your phone's ringer, helping you or whoever was nearby to find it easily. That convenient popup vanished, but the first result from the aforementioned search query was — and is — still a link to the Google Account settings page entitled "Find your phone," and containing a locator map and button to activate the ringer. Clicking that link, or selecting "Find a lost device" within account settings, lands you on the Find your Phone page. You'll be looking at a list of devices linked to your account. Previously, clicking on a device immediately gave you the option to ring or locate it. Lower on the page, you could lock it, call it, sign out of Google on it, erase it, or contact your carrier about it. In other words, you had real, actionable options. The left is from six years ago, and the right from today. Screenshots courtesy of Abner Li / 9to5Google Not anymore. The page and links to it still exist, but the only prominent action recommended is a real doozy. The options to lock, locate, or erase a phone have disappeared, replaced by a simplistic solution: "Try calling your phone." If that isn't funny enough, the page advises users who can't remember their number to "ask a friend" or "use Contacts to look it up." It then helpfully points out that the device "will need to have Hangouts or a similar service" installed — and Google Hangouts has been dead for going on three years. Of course, lost Android device tracking is far from extinct. To find a lost phone, tablet, or other device with Android's gadget-finding technology built in, visit the ever-improving Google Find Hub. Other than directing you to your carrier's contact information, it does everything the original Find your phone page could do. Thankfully, this is not a classic case of Google pulling the plug on a promising service. But it is slightly ironic. You ask one of the world's leaders in data harvesting, digital mapping, Bluetooth tracking, and software implementing where you last set down your high-tech mobile device. It replies, "I don't know, have somebody try calling it. Maybe your friend." When that doesn't work, the confusingly still-alive page does let you sign out of the device with one click. But a one-sentence explainer and a link to the Find Hub would have saved at least a few Android users some confusion.
