Google Goes Globe-Trotting

There are no computers in the tiny village of Raagihalli, located 30 miles outside Bangalore, India. Overseas visitors seldom venture down the unpaved roads that lead to the 70 or so threadbare huts surrounded by fields vulnerable to the trampling of elephants. So it is fair to say that cultures clashed with the arrival of the Googlers—young masters and mistresses of the Internet, armed with stratospheric SAT scores, computer-science degrees from top universities and some of the most coveted jobs of their generation. This past summer a group of 18 Google associate product managers (APMs) were circling the globe on a training trip, seeing firsthand the humble, unwired ways of life experienced by billions—including the vast majority of Indians who are more familiar with crop fields than search fields.

The occasion begins awkwardly, as villagers line up to greet the visitors, pushing their children forward to introduce themselves and accept notebooks and pencils from Marissa Mayer, a Google vice president. Mayer wisely cuts this Angelina Jolie moment short, urging the Googlers to mingle.

"Have you ever heard of Google?" asks APM Alex Vogenthaler of a smiling man about his age of 27. "No," is the reply. Vogenthaler tries to explain what Google does. "It's a computer corporation?" the man asks, clearly puzzled. Other APMs, dodging the cows that roam freely through the village, peek into the concrete-floor houses and a schoolroom with almost no books or supplies. (Though many of the villagers have mobile phones.)

"This brings a whole new meaning to what's on the back of my shirt," says APM Dan Siroker, 24. He is referring to a T shirt with the company logo in front and, on the back, the now classic phrase on the company home page: I'M FEELING LUCKY.

LUCKY, indeed. Siroker has hit the job jackpot. Raised in Google's backyard of Palo Alto, Calif., he graduated with a degree in computer science from Stanford and, with the math prowess of a nerd and the schmoozing skills of a car salesman, could have gone anywhere. His choice was Google, and he was accepted in the APM program, which seeks brilliant kids and slots them directly into important jobs—no experience necessary. Surprisingly, Google trains these young execs, knowing many will leave for other jobs in just a few years.

Halfway through the two-year program, the APMs travel to foreign Google offices to network with fellow employees, learn about regional markets and soak up local culture. NEWSWEEK tagged along on this year's trip, a marathon 16-day visit to four cities. Traveling with the APMs provided a rare look into Google itself—its management philosophy, its values and its attempts to maintain its vision in the face of tremendous growth.