As Larry [Page] spoke, it dawned on Jonathan the the engineers he was talking about weren’t engineers in the traditional definition of the role. Yes, they were brilliant coders and system designers, but along with their deep technical expertise many of them were also quite business-savvy and possessed a healthy streak of creativity. Coming from an academic background, Larry and Sergey had given these employees unusual freedom and power. Managing them by traditional planning structures wouldn’t work; it might guide them but it would also hem them in. “Why would you want to do that?” Larry asked Jonathan. “That would be stupid.”