????當(dāng)谷歌(Google)在2008年勞動(dòng)節(jié)那天宣布該公司將推出一款網(wǎng)頁瀏覽器時(shí)，很少有人意識(shí)到，這場(chǎng)發(fā)布會(huì)在某種程度上也成了桑德爾?皮查伊的亮相會(huì)，將這個(gè)籍籍無名、說話輕聲軟語的中層經(jīng)理從幕后推到臺(tái)前。從那場(chǎng)發(fā)布會(huì)的過程看，恐怕沒有人會(huì)料到，在6年后的今天，皮查伊?xí)巧辖裉爝@個(gè)高度——在上周末的一場(chǎng)管理層地震后，皮查伊顯然已經(jīng)成為谷歌公司僅次于CEO拉里?佩奇的二號(hào)人物。

????實(shí)際上，Chrome瀏覽器的發(fā)布會(huì)最終演變?yōu)橐粓?chǎng)災(zāi)難。谷歌在幕后做了大量準(zhǔn)備工作，希望捧出一場(chǎng)媒體盛宴。它還準(zhǔn)備了一些發(fā)言要點(diǎn)，以解釋為什么要重新點(diǎn)燃與微軟(Microsoft)的瀏覽器大戰(zhàn)，以及為什么它的昔日盟友——火狐瀏覽器(Firefox)的制造商Mozilla不必?fù)?dān)心。谷歌還秘密準(zhǔn)備了一份詳盡的、長(zhǎng)達(dá)38頁的插圖手冊(cè)，用來解釋Chrome瀏覽器的獨(dú)特功能。谷歌安排在那個(gè)周二把它發(fā)送到與會(huì)記者和博主的電子郵箱里。這樣一來，參加完三天活動(dòng)的與會(huì)者們剛剛踏進(jìn)家門，就能收到谷歌發(fā)來的圖文并茂的Chrome指南。

????但是這本小冊(cè)子卻意外地于星期一率先登陸德國(guó)，而那天德國(guó)并不放假。當(dāng)一位德國(guó)博主將這本小冊(cè)子上傳到網(wǎng)上之后，Chrome團(tuán)隊(duì)只得手忙腳亂地處理這個(gè)意外。包括皮查伊的上司瑪麗莎?梅耶爾在內(nèi)的一眾谷歌高管，都被召集到谷歌總部開會(huì)。經(jīng)過快速但激烈的討論，谷歌高層決定提前一天發(fā)布聲明。為了讓用戶能夠及時(shí)地從谷歌數(shù)據(jù)中心下載Chrome，工程師們開始火急火燎地做各種準(zhǔn)備工作，公關(guān)部門也開始一個(gè)一個(gè)地給記者們打電話——其中大多數(shù)人那天還在休假。

????雖然這段小插曲有些尷尬，但它很快就被人忘掉了。盡管當(dāng)時(shí)很多人懷疑Chrome能否挑戰(zhàn)當(dāng)時(shí)的主流瀏覽器——IE和火狐，但是Chrome的確很快火了起來。據(jù)StatCounter統(tǒng)計(jì)，Chrome現(xiàn)在已成為全球第一大瀏覽器，其市場(chǎng)份額已經(jīng)超過了IE的兩倍。Chrome的成功也為一系列具有重要戰(zhàn)略意義的產(chǎn)品鋪平了道路，其中包括Chrome OS操作系統(tǒng)、Chromebook筆記本電腦和Chromecast電視棒等。同時(shí)它的成功也令皮查伊在谷歌扶搖直上，成為科技行業(yè)中晉升最快的新銳人物之一。

????實(shí)際上，皮查伊此前擔(dān)任產(chǎn)品管理總監(jiān)時(shí)，就已經(jīng)憑借一個(gè)不起眼但非常重要的工具在谷歌內(nèi)部揚(yáng)名立萬了，它就是谷歌工具欄。谷歌工具欄之所以重要，是因?yàn)樗鼛椭雀枋蛊渌阉饕娉蔀镮E和火狐瀏覽器的默認(rèn)設(shè)置。皮查伊負(fù)責(zé)這款產(chǎn)品時(shí)成功抵抗了來自微軟的攻擊，從而鞏固了他在公司的地位。《財(cái)富》今年年初的一篇文章《Chrome時(shí)代的開始》這樣寫道：

????“Chrome有另一個(gè)不太廣為人知的任務(wù)：保護(hù)谷歌的搜索引擎，因?yàn)樗暙I(xiàn)了谷歌2013年598億美元營(yíng)收和129億美元利潤(rùn)的大部分。從2000年以來，谷歌大范圍推廣它的瀏覽器工具欄，從而使其搜索引擎成為IE和火狐瀏覽器的默認(rèn)設(shè)置。（該工具欄也使谷歌得以追蹤用戶的‘瀏覽習(xí)慣’。）”

????When Google announced that it had built a Web browser on Labor Day in 2008, the event represented something of a coming out party for SundarPichai, a little-known and soft-spoken middle manager at the company. Based on how the launch went, no one would have predicted that six years later, Pichai would be where is today—a clear No. 2 to CEO Larry Page following a management shakeup late last week.

????Indeed, the launch of the Chrome browser was something of a debacle. Google GOOG 0.18% had worked hard behind the scenes to orchestrate a media splash. It had readied talking points to explain why it was reigniting a browser war with Microsoft MSFT -0.48% , and why its erstwhile ally, Mozilla, maker of the Firefox browser, shouldn’t worry. As part of it, the company had secretly produced an elaborate, 38-page comic book that explained the unique features of Google’s browser. It was expected to land in the mailboxes of journalists and bloggers on that Tuesday just as they returned from the three-day weekend.

????But the comic books arrived in Germany on Monday, and it was not a holiday there. After a German blogger posted the comic book online, the Chrome team had to scramble to handle the fiasco. Top executives, including Pichai’s boss at the time, Marissa Mayer, were summoned to the Googleplex. After quick but spirited debate, the team decided to move up the announcement by a day. As engineers scrambled to make Chrome available for download from Google’s network of data centers, public relations staff started to alert reporters—most of whom where on holiday—one by one.

????Embarrassing as it was, the snafu was quickly forgotten. Chrome, which launched amid skepticism that it could make inroads against the dominant browsers of the time, Internet Explorer and Firefox, became a runaway hit. It is now the No. 1 browser in the world, with a market share that’s more than twice that of the once dominant Internet Explorer, according to StatCounter. Its success paved the way for a series of related strategically important products including Chrome OS, Chromebooks, and Chromecast. And it became the engine that powered Pichai through one of the fastest corporate ascents in the technology industry.

????Inside Google, however, Pichai had already made his mark as a director of product management for an obscure but important weapon in the company’s arsenal: the Google toolbar. The toolbar was critical because it helped Google make its search engine the default option on IE and Firefox. And Pichai’s role in leading the product as it came under attack from Microsoft, helped cement his standing in the company, as detailed in a Fortune story titled The Dawn of the Chrome Age earlier this year:

????“Chrome had another, less public mission: to defend the search engine that accounts for most of Google’s $59.8 billion in 2013 revenues and $12.9 billion in profits. Since 2000, Google had distributed a browser toolbar that made its search engine the default on IE and Firefox. (The toolbar also allowed Google to track users’ surfing habits.)”