What am I?  Chopped liver! Here is a moment that you can structure to give your learners time to ponder the preceding question—Is our talent less valuable? Life as a Google partner does seem sweet indeed. Then, there is the organizational life which lies ahead for the rest of us in the world who are not heading to the Googleplex. Let them do a little “rabble-rousing.” You could stir emotions by showing that famous clip from the film Network where the news commentator shouts, “I’m mad as hell, and I won’t take it anymore!” The point is to raise a question, not their ire. The question is: What could working in a Google-like structure and culture mean to the quality of my life?  The ire part comes in naturally when some, perhaps most, recognize that old management models prevail, and, yes, they can be treated like “chopped liver” and as a cost-item when it is downsizing time. 

a. Give each a 5 x 7 blank file card. 

b. On one side, have them make (legible) notes on what a Google-like work experience can mean to becoming the professional for which they are investing in a college education. 

c. On the other side, have them make notes on the future work experience they are afraid they may end up having.

d. Now, collect all the file cards and shuffle them. 

e. Pass them out, so that this randomization will put someone else’s card in a learner’s hands. 

f. Have each select the side of the card to read out loud to the whole class that most resembles their own optimistic or pessimistic view. 

g. Have each read their chosen side, until all have been heard. 

h. Pause and ask the class to reflect on the tone and substance of what has been heard. What is the trend? Hopeful?  Bleak? 

i. If time allows, now have them go through the same order and read the flip side of their cards. 

j. What is the trend now? What does this mean to us as we seek future homes for our careers? What would we want to say to managers who fail to see the wisdom of this brash upstart company Google?