Google is the undisputed king of the internet.  The word “Google” has now become synonymous with constant innovation and brilliant expansion.  Once a young upstart, the company has quickly evolved into a publicly traded powerhouse in less than a decade.  Google and their business mindset represent one that is truly ahead of its time.

Their “envelope-pushing” mentality has given the company some distinct advantages that most simply do not have.  They lie on top of the technology world, standing tall as the true thought leader in the industry.  Their employees are among the most selective and most prominent group of hires in today’s workforce while their company culture allows for an incredible amount of innovation.   Along with their numerous core competencies, I’ve noticed how Google tends to exhibit three particular strategic options: build, acquire, or steal.

In this post, I will discuss how Google has executed on these three different fronts, and what other companies can learn from their actions.

Option #1 — Build
Most recent examples: Google Chrome OS and Google Wave

Google is no stranger to the building process.  Google Chrome OS — a lightweight operating system, and Google Wave — a game-changing communications platform are ambitious feats to say the least.  Despite any concrete release dates, both are projected to disrupt the industry in big ways.

It’s impressive to consider such undertakings when you stop to realize that an operating system and communication platform, for example, are well beyond Google’s core online identity.  Google shows how existing businesses can deliver unique solutions to opportunities they may encounter as a business, even if those solutions may be outside the company’s “wheelhouse”.  Google reveals the importance of building on top existing businesses; and how doing so may result in attaining goals otherwise unattainable.

Option #2 — Acquire
Most recent example: Google Voice [acquired from] > GrandCentral

In addition to building unique products, Google is notorious for acquiring promising, young companies.  This tactic has proved successful in the past, becoming an extremely powerful and effective way for Google to increase their product base.  Most recently, Google’s acquisition of GrandCentral in 2006 will finally take shape as Google Voice (currently in beta).  With this $50mm acquisition, Google now looks to revolutionize phone management.

Acquiring companies is nothing new.  It is a proven strategy implemented by companies looking to make power moves.  Often times this presents a faster (and hopefully more cost-efficient) alternative from the ground-up building process mentioned above.  It’s also an amazing way to interact with a foreign company’s collaborative process and intellectual property.  Google has demonstrated that, at the correct price and time, acquisitions can propel one’s business to new heights.

Option #3 — Steal
Most recent example: Google Reader [features "stolen" from] > FriendFeed

Stealing is the final option I will discuss in this post.  Despite the negative connotation associated with this type of activity, stealing is nothing new, especially in the tech world.  Many businesses steal and Google is no exception.  Most recently, we have seen Google take more than a few cues from life-streaming service, FriendFeed.  Coincidentally, FriendFeed boasts a founding team comprised of ex-Googlers, which had many people asking the question: “Why doesn’t Google buy FriendFeed?”

Obviously Google saw an opportunity to enhance a product by incorporating some key features found in another web service.  Apparently these upgrades weren’t protected or unique enough to stop Google from implementing them on their own.  Whether you feel FriendFeed was ripped off or that Google acted intelligently, one thing is true: Google Reader has become better due to Google’s decision.  And that’s what ultimately matters — delivering the best to your customers.

But Google is a complete anomaly…

We are all aware of the fact that companies like Google don’t come around all the time.  Despite this truth, we can still learn a lot from such an innovative firm.  Google’s strategic actions and progressive thinking creates a nice blueprint for entrepreneurs and startup companies to follow.

Here are some lessons that every business can take away from the actions illustrated above:

• remain aware of your competition at all times
• prepare to take action against competition whenever necessary
• never become complacent, instead, look to constantly reinvent yourself
• act like a startup
• invest in startups
• push the envelope beyond traditonal wisdom
• don’t just solve problems, create solutions

The web world has always been quick to call something a “game changer” or a “killer app” at a moment’s notice.  These sorts of declarations come largely from the early adopter crowd; a group of individuals who play a critical role in the advancement of technology.  Often times, making these sorts of statements are either: 1) unwarranted, 2) unjustified, or simply 3) premature.

But yesterday, when Google demoed their Wave product at the IO conference in San Francisco [video below], everybody watching knew that today was not like any other day.  It was very clear that the game had just changed, and drastically at that.  Google’s Wave was a project started over two years ago attempting to “re-invent” e-mail as we knew it.  In doing so, the Australian-based team at Google uncovered an amazing communication and collaboration platform.

[too long? ... read this great Google Wave breakdown courtesy of Mashable]

The service boasts the most interactive and real-time communication experience we have ever seen.  Remember thinking that it couldn’t get any more real-time than Twitter?  Or maybe even FriendFeed?  Wave literally blows these communication outlets out of the water (no pun intended) in terms of its connectivity and real-timeyness with it’s character-by-character chat-style communication flow.  No longer do you have to wait for an individual to post the reply, comment, or update; because if you are both on the “wave” at the same time, you are watching each other type, character by character, virtually lag-free!  Overload?  Maybe.  Game-changing?  Absolutely.

In addition to Wave’s powerful social implications lies Wave’s incredible enterprise capabilities.  Wave revamps online collaboration, now making wikis feel archaeic in nature.  The business implications on such a platform are immediately apparent.

How did Google do it?

• First, the team looked at the most dominant form of communication on the internet today: e-mail.
• Then the team asked, “What if email were invented today instead of 40 years ago?”
• Then they set out to essentially “re-invent” email using all of today’s communication tools the web has to offer
• As a result, the team created the most complete communication platform in history.

Just how pervasive will Google Wave become?

Is there a chance Google Wave won’t take off?  Yeah, I guess there’s a chance…but a very slight one.  Google’s focus on open source architecture and developer interaction leads me to believe that we are in for one long ride, on one very big wave.

So you have your business idea.  How do you know if it’s a viable one?  According to most venture capitalists (VCs), there is an initial set of guidelines or preliminary questions in which your idea must fulfill or answer.  You can bet that on the top of that list, the following question will appear:

“Do you solve a real problem?”

Outside investors want to understand exactly how your business will solve real-world problems, and subsequently, how your business will add value to your customers and the world at-large.  Obviously, no one would want to invest in a company that is solving a “problem” felt only by 20 people in the world.
I think everyone understands why this question is asked, but is it really the most effective?  Are VCs missing out by limiting themselves to unsubstantial criteria?  Is “solving a real problem” a narrow-minded thinking approach?  I would argue that it is…let me explain.

Take a look at the most successful web and tech companies of late.  I would venture to guess that if you asked them the question, “Do you solve a real problem,” their answers wouldn’t necessarily blow away the VCs that asked the question.  Instead of solving problems, these companies were more interested in creating solutions.  I believe there is a big distinction between the two.  And it is my belief that companies should look towards the latter in order to create an innovative, fresh, and meaningful business.

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone sums up my sentiments in one short sentence.  He describes Twitter as, “…the messaging system that we didn’t know we needed until we had it.”  Now, rewind back a few years when Twitter was being developed.  I’m sure if they were to answer the question: “Do you solve a real problem?”, their answers may not have been the most convincing to skeptics.  Most likely they would have been met with rebuttals like, “we already have instant messaging“, “people can already text their friends“, or maybe even “nobody cares about what others are doing“.  Of course, these critics would come to find out they were dead wrong.

The messaging system that we didn’t know we needed until we had it.
-Biz Stone, describing Twitter

Point is, Biz and Co. did not set out to simply solve an existing problem, but instead, took it one step further and created a solution…a solution to a problem that had not yet been defined.

Same can be said about internet giants Google and Facebook.  The fact that Google’s product was simply ‘better’ than the rest hardly meant it solved a real problem.  Taking a look at Facebook, the same can almost be said.  When connecting with friends and colleagues was in its infancy, the naysayers simply couldn’t understand the need for such a service.  Well, Facebook created one.  And it doesn’t stop with these great web firms.  Nearly all successful services go beyond the conventional “problem solving” wisdom.

So the next time you want to gauge your company’s legitimacy, you may want to start thinking about whether or not your company “creates a solution” instead of it simply “solving a problem”.  Doing this will instantly expand your company’s scope and have you thinking laterally, instead of horizontally.  When it comes to being innovative:

Look to create instead of simply solving