Lessons from the Search Giant

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Lessons from the Search Giant

By Douglas MacMillan

In his new book, What Would Google Do? (Collins Business, 2009), blogger and journalism professor Jeff Jarvis examines the search giant's success for lessons that are applicable in other fields. He finds plenty. He thinks that Google (GOOG) and the Web-connected world it represents require businesses in almost every industry to rethink their relationships with customers, suppliers, and employees.

In media, for example, people can wake up every morning and use the search engine to construct a newspaper different from the day before. In real estate, people may buy houses without ever setting foot in a real estate office. How do existing businesses survive the upheaval? How are newcomers profiting from these profound changes? This BusinessWeek slide show explains Jarvis' ideas about how the lessons of Google could be applied in 18 different fields.