Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

It's nothing new to see people that get enamored with a company completely neglect their faults and only see their strengths. That seems to be the case with Google (GOOG).

One writer recently said concerning the company: "If you're an investor, sure, you want analysts asking the hard questions. But I hope Wall Street doesn't try to neuter Google of its desire to spend on its employees. Investors have only one thing to thank for Google's success, and that's the people who develop its products and sell them."

What she was referring to was all the perks the workers get, along with responding to concerns about spending from analysts and whether they're still hiring too quickly.

One of the people commenting had some great insights into what may be happening at Google saying, "The problem with being in love is that you see things you want to see and ignore or depreciate the things you don't want to admit exist. Google is a wolf in sheep's clothing. The free hot lunches, the other so-called perks?

"There is a sociological term called False Consciousness and it plays well to the majority demographic of Google's ranks: college/university graduate-age whiz kids whose social environment is their work environment."

There's a ton of stuff we could talk about from these comments, but the key one I want to zero in on is the way people think concerning Google, just like they did with the dotcom companies before the crash ... that we're somehow in a different environment that the former rules don't apply in.

When I say rules here, I'm talking about running a business, not innovation and things like that, which are in reality free from some of the former rules that governed products and services.

In other words, you still have to take in more than you spend. You still have to keep costs under control; something some, like the writer above, thinks isn't important, calling it "neutering" the company.

The problem with that is when Google decided to become a public company, the money they spend isn't their own, it's investors' money. Investors have input on how their money is spent.

At this time Google does have enough money to be able to spend on perks other companies may not be able to do, or think there are better ways to spend investors' money. To imply that what keeps Google innovating and being a great company is the free meals and massages, is to completely miss the point.

While at this time their workforce age and growth allows them to do this, what happens when the reality that they are a mature company comes in? Those who think they will continue to grow at this pace indefinitely are naive to say the least, or as the commenter said, have developed a "False Consciousness," concerning the company.

This isn't a cut against Google, but just saying those looking at it from a glorified viewpoint, will be disappointed sometime in the future. Those running the company are aware they're on a high now, and are working to keep it that way as long as they can. But they also know there is no way and can continue on at this pace. The people in the recent dotcom era thought the rules of business had changed also, and found out the hard way they never do.

Business must be run from reality, not a fantasy.  Those that view things in a way where they don't look underneath the hype to see the engine that really runs the business, find themselves wondering what happened when the company becomes like others, as far as growth and containing costs go.

Google will reach that stage, just like all companies will. At that time their commitment to the existing perks and expenses will truly be tested. Anybody can assert in good times how much they take care of their people, it's when times get tough that the reality comes forth. Google has yet to be tested there. Nobody can make true assertions until that time happens.

As far as hiring costs go, I think the reason they're doing it like they are now is because of the growing concerns of a labor shortage. While they have the money, they're going to get the workers they can, as other tech companies are also struggling to find enough qualified people.

Some think it's some grand strategy by Google because they're going to make some unknown big announcement or push into something new. I don't think it's that at all, but simply tapping into the existing workforce in preparation for the lack of labor, which has already begun to happen.

Google is flying high now, but like any company, they will come down to reality as the mature and markets they make inroads in are at the top levels. At that time we'll see them have to face the same decisions any company will have to make on running a business.

The fantasy by many that they're different than others as far as business rules apply, is just that: a fantasy. Time will show that it's the truth. Those running the company know how vulnerable they are as search revenue reaches about as high as it can, and increasing competition in display ads cuts back on their revenue.