Google’s famous catchphrase, “Don’t be evil,” has become a shorthand mission statement for Silicon Valley, encompassing a variety of ideals that proponents say are good for business and good for the world: Embrace open platforms. Trust decisions to the wisdom of crowds. Ensure that your customers have a positive experience.

Treat your employees like gods.

It’s ironic, then, that one of Silicon Valley’s most successful companies ignored all these tenets.

Apple’s rules:

• Design software to work on your own hardware—

and not on anyone else’s.

• Never talk to the press. Never leak product news until you’re ready to announce it. Threaten to sue children who send you their ideas.

• Please yourself, not your customers. Release iMacs without floppy drives. Release MacBook Airs without optical drives.

• Motivate through fear. Don’t be afraid to scream.

Threaten to fire employees. Withhold praise until it’s truly deserved.68 How can Apple continue to be an innovation and market leader with values such as these?

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