Inside Alphabet’s X: Nurturing Radical Creativity

X, Alphabet Inc.’s “moonshot factory,” dares to solve big problems with breakthrough technologies. Most of their projects fail. But some — like self-driving cars and the AI that powers Google — are already changing the world. CEO Astro Teller joins Azeem Azhar to explain how he built a culture of radical creativity, where employees are encouraged to dream — and to fail — big.

In this episode they explore:

• Why allowing the right amount of chaos is vital for flourishing creativity.
• The five basic principles at the heart of X.
• Why innovation dies if only success is rewarded.
• What inspiration Astro takes from Willy Wonka.

Further reading:

• • “Inside X, Google’s top-secret moonshot factory” (Wired, 2020)
  • “Astro Teller on How to Handle Failure” (Wired, 2019)
  • “Astro Teller, ‘Captain of Moonshots’ at Alphabet’s X, Is on a Roll” (WSJ, 2018)

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