Google just cracked open its internal leadership playbook for the first time in its 26-year history. The company's launching Google People Management Essentials, a public course from The Google School for Leaders that packages two decades of management research into an 8-hour program featuring AI tools like Gemini and NotebookLM. It's Google's biggest bet yet on democratizing workplace skills beyond its walls.
Google is making its first major play in the corporate training market, and it's doing it by opening up something the company's guarded for decades - its internal management expertise. The tech giant just launched Google People Management Essentials, marking the first time it's sharing insights from The Google School for Leaders with the outside world.
The timing isn't coincidental. Companies are struggling with a management crisis as remote work reshuffles team dynamics and AI transforms how work gets done. Google VP and Chief Learning Officer Brian Glaser says the company's research shows that investing in managers "creates a more effective, collaborative and supportive environment for all and drives business outcomes."
What makes this different from typical corporate training is Google's integration of AI directly into the curriculum. Students get hands-on experience using Gemini and NotebookLM for practical management tasks - creating SMART goals, developing project plans, and tailoring communications for different audiences. It's essentially Google teaching other companies how to manage in an AI-first workplace.
The course condenses 20+ years of Google's internal management research into four core areas: building high-performing teams, setting and achieving goals, supporting individual growth, and personal management development. More than a dozen Google leaders teach the program, sharing real-world stories and leadership approaches that have scaled one of tech's most complex organizations.
Early partnerships reveal Google's enterprise ambitions. The company's already rolled out the program at media conglomerate E.W. Scripps, stock photo giant Shutterstock, University of Illinois' Gies College of Business, and Florida State University. These aren't pilot programs - they're full deployments aimed at upskilling employees and students in management fundamentals.
The 8-hour, self-paced format addresses a key corporate learning challenge: busy managers don't have time for lengthy training programs. Google's betting that bite-sized, AI-enhanced learning will stick better than traditional management seminars or MBA-style courses.
This move puts Google in direct competition with established corporate training players like LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, and traditional consulting firms. But Google's advantage is authenticity - it's teaching management principles that actually scaled a $307 billion company through multiple technology shifts and market cycles.
