(Via Wired) Adam L. Penenberg writes, Wal-Mart ,the richest businesses in America (indeed, the world), revolutionized the use of technology to create a new way to do business - helping people find what they want. and Google the internet leader- both have similar traits, characteristics,ideas and execution mechanisms. Excerpts with edits and comments:
Reach: Walmart accounts for 9% of US retails sales and Google accounts for 80% of internet search including licensed technology and 75% of all website referrals
Secrets to success: Wal-Mart offers a wider variety of products (at lower prices) than competitors and Google offers faster, more useful searches (for free) than competitors
In-house technology: Wal-Mart: Developed information technology (it operates the nation's largest private satellite communication system) and perfected the use of the bar code to speed up the supply chain and Google developed algorithms to rank web pages by link popularity so that searches are not only fast, but also yield the most useful results.
Company jargons are similar – associates and affiliates
Company maxims: almost similar looking 10 items forming the company’s core values
Worker salaries: both are said to be paying less than the worker average.
Archenemies: unions, community workers for Wal-Mart & Privacy experts in the case of Google(Gmail privacy issues)
Biggest threat: Rising chinese currency for Wal-Mart and Click frauds for Google.
Allegations of censorship: Wal-Mart does not stock racy magazines, Google blocks users surfing on racist topics and tinkered similarly Ad Sense policy. My Take: Adam's list is impressive - success has some common traits across industries and age -I guess!! Some dissimilarities also could be spotted - Google recruits aggressively at lateral levels and always tries to maintain a positive image of being able to attract best talent, Google's markesthare is always higher outside the US and to that extent more focussed on international users as against Wal-Mart - which reigns supreme domestically and generally struggling to repeat its US based success outside of the US,Wal-Mart faces competition from international majors like Carrefour besides US based competition as against Google whose competition is mostly from US based internet companies etc.
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