Laszlo Bock knew he wasn’t walking into a traditional corporate setting in 2006 when he arrived for his job interview for head of people operations at Google.
Google recruiter Martha Josephson implored Bock, who had done stints at firms like GE and McKinsey & Co., not to wear a suit to his interview. No one wears suits there, she told him—show up in one, and they'll think you don't get them or their culture. Bock acquiesced, but kept a necktie in his jacket pocket just in case.
