Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, discusses his experience working with Steve Jobs, dealing with criticism, and developing his management style.

The Behind the Desk series by CNBC Make It features personal interviews with successful business executives, exploring their journeys, motivations, and daily routines.

It's challenging to surpass Eric Schmidt in terms of career achievements.

In 2001, Larry Page and Sergey Brin hired Eric Schmidt, a 46-year-old tech executive with experience at Novell and Sun Microsystems, to provide "adult supervision" to their growing web-search engine, Google, as their chairman and later CEO.

From 2001 to 2011, he served as Google's CEO, helping the company grow from a Silicon Valley start-up to a global tech giant with a market value of over $1.8 trillion. He continued as executive chairman until 2017 and technical advisor until 2020.

Schmidt was the world's 66th-richest person with a net worth of around $23 billion, according to Forbes, so it's easy to forget how small Google was when he joined the company.

As CEO, Schmidt, 66, tells CNBC Make It, he had no idea how much Google could grow, despite being 100 people. He says, "I just really liked the people."

Instead of pushing a grand plan to make the start-up huge, he focused on his individual strengths, such as being a workaholic, having a passion for building things, and leveraging his likeability. He admits that his likeability sometimes caused people to underestimate him.

Schmidt states that he profited from the belief that he was a kind man and not a skilled businessman. As a result, his approach was to be the most pleasant person in the room. However, Schmidt emphasizes that if you employ this strategy, you must be able to support it with genuine effort, tangible results, and sound decision-making.

Schmidt is now concentrating on his charitable organization, Schmidt Futures, which supports groundbreaking research in areas such as artificial intelligence, biology, and energy. In 2019, he co-authored the book "The Age of AI," which served as a guide to the potential future of the technology.

Schmidt talks about his career success, working with Steve Jobs, his biggest Google mistakes, and how he handles criticism.

Having luck is crucial to building a successful career.

Luck is the first and most important factor that contributed to my success. It encompasses my birth, education, interests, timing, and the business I was in. While hard work is also crucial, luck plays an equally, if not more, significant role in achieving success. As one becomes luckier, they can create their own luck.

As a young executive, I was rapidly promoted. I identify as a workaholic. Fortunately, not many people share this trait.

I believe that the most successful individuals possess a significant amount of skill as well as determination. Although I initially believed that our work was simply fascinating, I later realized that my ambition was not fully understood. However, as adulthood progressed, I discovered my inner strength.

Understanding oneself and one's strengths took a considerable amount of time. It is crucial to embrace one's identity and behavior patterns, as there is intense scrutiny and expectation, particularly for the youth.

Steve Jobs' leadership style was shaped by his unconventional personality.

Steve Jobs, whom I had the pleasure of working closely with and greatly admired, was anything but ordinary.

His charisma and insights were so extraordinary that he was able to overcome any handicaps with the way he treated people, earning him immense admiration from others.

Whether you're flappable or low-key, the key to inspiring people to join in and change the world lies in your ability to connect with them on a personal level.

Teenagers are relatively unmanageable, but they need to be managed. It's important to let them do what they want until it gets dangerous or serious, at which point you have to put your foot down. Everything is fine until it's not, in which case, we have to act quickly.

A good management style is that one which is effective and efficient. However, it's important to note that there are many different management styles, and what works best may vary depending on the situation.

We made many mistakes while constructing Google into a giant corporation.

I was fortunate to work alongside Larry and Sergey, who were not only my best friends but also my business partners. Despite our frequent disagreements over food, we always remained committed to our company and its mission.

If the two of them were in agreement, I would typically respond with "yes." However, if they disagreed, I would initiate a process to reach a consensus among the three of us. Typically, their ideas were more superior to mine.

I was unaware of Google's size when I first started working there, and I had no idea of the possibilities. If you had told me how big Google would become, I would have been skeptical. Looking back, I wouldn't change anything, but we made many mistakes during our journey.

As CEO, my biggest mistake was with social media: although Google was early in the market, they didn't execute it effectively. Timing is crucial when entering emerging platform markets, and even being a few months early can make a significant difference with the right product.

Criticism is a part of life. I have learned to accept it.

I'm cautious with my words, as I'm part of a group of "tech individuals" who often face criticism for our actions.

I encountered criticism at Google that I hadn't experienced before. I believe this is due to the fact that the social media world and the media have changed, and now everything is about power and influence.

As a public figure, you learn to let go of false information, as people tend to forget it quickly. Our society's attention span is now very short.

The criticism I receive stems from a combination of pride and jealousy. Despite this, I believe it's an inevitable aspect of life. When conversing with others, I now say, "Embrace it. I've learned to accept it."

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

This initiative is a philanthropic effort by Schmidt Futures.

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