Being Egotistical shouldn't be conflated with being an Egotistical Asshole. Ego if used in the right way can be a powerful force for the better. America's moonshot was a collective ego of an entire nation that led them to achieve it.<p>I watched an interview by Charlie Rose of Google's operation guy called Lazlo, I thought it was a great interview. He said having intellectual humility is important (does not mean less ego), which is the curiosity to learn or accept if you were wrong. Ego I am not convinced is such a harmful thing, and lets not say it is harmful just because many software engineers being introverts have a confirmation bias against it.
"Page was known as a tough manager inside the search giant, peppering his team with pointed questions and cutting (though usually accurate) observations. “He could come off as very harsh,” said one person who has had many encounters with Page over the years. “Until you realize it was more that he was completely lacking in EQ. I mean, zero.”"<p>How is asking pointed questions and making cutting observations equate to being unsympathetic ? If you care about succeeding, this type of feedback is invaluable. If you don't, then you are more likely going to use the 'he is not very nice' card to get out doing any good work.
I'll believe it when Google start acknowledging human being's desire for privacy as a real thing instead of a technical and commercial obstacle.
Hopefully this will also happen at lower levels.<p>The "I'm the smartest person in the world, because I work at Google" attitude is a reason I don't interact with/communicate with/contribute to Google-related projects. Their hugely inflated egos are just off-putting.
Ego is essential to breaking through those tough barriers and new opportunities. Disregard for risk. Is this really what is needed when Google is being criticized for falling behind its competitors in innovation.