I've been gone from G for 4 1/2 years now. When I was there, the weekly meetings often featured "search quality" measurements that were rigorous in their objectivity (I thought). They bent over backwards to be non-self-deluding.

I distinctly remember Udi Manber saying "if the web is slow, it's our fault" (actually, the speech was that everything is "our fault"), meaning, really, "take responsibility for problems and don't throw up your hands."

However, the natural tendency of any organization is to reward the suckups and promote mediocre people who just get along with everyone. It wouldn't surprise me if that's what's happened with Google, too.