Company | Max Barry | Talks at Google

TL;DR

Max Barry discusses his latest novel "Company," a funny and insightful satire on modern management techniques.

Transcript

hi everyone and welcome to today's authors at Google event featuring Max Barry Max is the author of three novels syrup Jennifer government and most recently company which is the book he'll be talking about today um the book was called by the Boston Globe a terrifically funny skewering of modern management techniques and the people cooked them up ho... Read More

Key Insights

• ❓ Max found inspiration for "Company" from his experiences in the marketing industry and the deceitful practices he witnessed.
• 🛟 Hewlett-Packard had a significant influence on Max's life and he dedicated his first novel to the company.
• 💱 Max discusses the evolution of corporations and the changing nature of the workplace.

Questions & Answers

Q: What inspired Max to write "Company"?

Max drew inspiration from his experiences in the marketing industry and the deceitful nature of the practices he saw.

Q: How has Max's writing career evolved since his early days?

Max started writing at a young age and eventually became a full-time author, dedicating his first novel to his former employer, Hewlett-Packard.

Q: How does Max feel about comparisons to Dilbert?

Max acknowledges the overlap in subject matter between his novel and Dilbert, but believes that writing a novel allows for a deeper exploration of workplace dynamics.

Q: Will the themes in "Company" still be relevant in the future?

Max believes that corporations have changed over time and his novel may not be as relevant in the future, as corporate culture continues to evolve.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Max Barry is a geek who has always had an affinity with Google and considers himself a bit of a geek.

• He started writing at a young age and used his classmates as characters in his stories.

• Max worked in marketing before becoming a full-time author and drew inspiration from the deceitful nature of the industry.