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Apple's inspirational note to new hires

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Re: Apple's inspirational note to new hires

#21

Post by chc »

SwellJoe wrote: post #18
josteink wrote: post #14

So like... A company bragging about itself in a way to make employees work more without asking to get paid for it? Can't say I've seen anything like that before. How original this makes Apple! Back to real life: every company claims to be best, unique or something like that. Some hollow, BS claim to motivate their employees. But just because they print it on a poster doesn't make it any more real. Apple is heartless…

I'd go further, and say that Apple is significantly worse than many other corporations in our industry, in terms of how they treat their people, how they treat their customers, and how they view the world and the ecosystem in which they operate. When Apple has power, they abuse it. When they don't have power, they fight tooth and nail to obtain it, while playing the underdog card. And, there are corporations in our i…

For perspective: Where are you coming from? Were you an Apple employee who had a battle experience or what?

Re: Apple's inspirational note to new hires

#22

Post by kamaal »

SwellJoe wrote: post #18
josteink wrote: post #14

So like... A company bragging about itself in a way to make employees work more without asking to get paid for it? Can't say I've seen anything like that before. How original this makes Apple! Back to real life: every company claims to be best, unique or something like that. Some hollow, BS claim to motivate their employees. But just because they print it on a poster doesn't make it any more real. Apple is heartless…

I'd go further, and say that Apple is significantly worse than many other corporations in our industry, in terms of how they treat their people, how they treat their customers, and how they view the world and the ecosystem in which they operate. When Apple has power, they abuse it. When they don't have power, they fight tooth and nail to obtain it, while playing the underdog card. And, there are corporations in our i…

Apple was only about one thing Fulfill Steve Jobs's vision. Throughout history men who made others work for their dreams with a religious zeal and discipline always did good. Note: they did good, and not always the ones who worked for them.

That is why dictatorship looks so good from the outside, because you can see the results. But internally someone somewhere is living in most miserable conditions to make things happen. You will see this pattern in every authoritarian and dictatorial set up.

Those stories from his biography on sending the most hardworking and performing person on his team on vacation just to deny him bonus. Denying stocks to most early employees who deserved it. Doesn't reflect good on Steve Jobs's part.

Re: Apple's inspirational note to new hires

#24

Post by chc »

davidw wrote: post #8
dvhh wrote: post #3

nice, but how many of you are ready to sacrifice your life (weekends) for a company's profit. - Curing cancer: yes - Saving lives : yes - Building an outlet for yet spending more money : no As much a I love my work, I won't love it more than my wife, or my future children.

Yeah, I had a similar reaction to that line. I might consider working weekends if I get something out of it other than "swimming in the deep end", like, say, extra money, or the prospect of extra money in the future in the case of a startup where one puts in that kind of time in the hope of future rewards. That is made possible by having a significant equity stake in the company. I mean, if you look at it from someth…

Making this material attractive to people who would just as soon work as quants is probably not Apple's goal here. If you don't react favorably, you probably aren't what they want. (I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, just that if money is really all you can think of in a job, some companies are more OK with that and others prefer passion, and it's good that people suited for one kind don't end up at the other.)

Re: Apple's inspirational note to new hires

#25

Post by ticks »

kamaal wrote: post #17

>>There's work and there's your life's work. Sure there is, that is why we choose to do it for a price that makes our life rewarding and deserving of such work. Talking of work and no rewards and compensation is not very impressive these days. >>The kind of work that has your fingerprints all over it. Yes that is why commits to source code repos exists. So that users who make them are traceable. Nearly every Open sou…

Just a side note. I noticed that when you quoted the first line, you subconsciously added the first two contracted "is" words. When I read the text, I found the first line difficult to read due to the contractions. I wonder why they did it that way.

Re: Apple's inspirational note to new hires

#26

Post by navs »

Seems like the kind of message you want to see on your first day or during a recruitment drive. I'm sure the ecstasy of the moment wears off after a while as the reality of a business/work environment settles in.

Re: Apple's inspirational note to new hires

#27

Post by davidw »

chc wrote: post #24
davidw wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I had a similar reaction to that line. I might consider working weekends if I get something out of it other than "swimming in the deep end", like, say, extra money, or the prospect of extra money in the future in the case of a startup where one puts in that kind of time in the hope of future rewards. That is made possible by having a significant equity stake in the company. I mean, if you look at it from someth…

Making this material attractive to people who would just as soon work as quants is probably not Apple's goal here. If you don't react favorably, you probably aren't what they want. (I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, just that if money is really all you can think of in a job, some companies are more OK with that and others prefer passion, and it's good that people suited for one kind don't end up at the…

I'm good at what I do because I'm passionate about it, and I want to be justly compensated for my time.

The rest of what they write isn't bad: everyone likes to feel like they're working on something that matters.

Re: Apple's inspirational note to new hires

#28

Post by ralfd »

kamaal wrote: post #22
SwellJoe wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd go further, and say that Apple is significantly worse than many other corporations in our industry, in terms of how they treat their people, how they treat their customers, and how they view the world and the ecosystem in which they operate. When Apple has power, they abuse it. When they don't have power, they fight tooth and nail to obtain it, while playing the underdog card. And, there are corporations in our i…

Apple was only about one thing Fulfill Steve Jobs's vision . Throughout history men who made others work for their dreams with a religious zeal and discipline always did good. Note: they did good, and not always the ones who worked for them. That is why dictatorship looks so good from the outside, because you can see the results. But internally someone somewhere is living in most miserable conditions to make things h…

AFAIK the story on the Apple IPO was that he didn't intervene for a good personal friend which was only working half time and so was not eligible for stock.

That is an assholish move! But it was also in a sense fair for the other full time working engineers.

Aside from that, the early Apple stories about Steve are showing that he not only was a dictator, but a clueless twenty-something kid. How to lead a company Jobs learned later at Next and Pixar. Not that he wasn't then also famously difficult, but he did manage to attract very good talents and have decade long working relationships with them.

Re: Apple's inspirational note to new hires

#29

Post by dsirijus »

jwingy wrote: post #23

Despite everyone's dislike of this, you have to think of this from the company's perspective. What's the cost of producing this? If they get even one sucker to buy into it, it'll have already paid for itself many times over.

...and if someone doesn't buy it, they've lost a smart person who sees through bs.

Re: Apple's inspirational note to new hires

#30

Post by drx »

josteink wrote: post #14

So like... A company bragging about itself in a way to make employees work more without asking to get paid for it? Can't say I've seen anything like that before. How original this makes Apple! Back to real life: every company claims to be best, unique or something like that. Some hollow, BS claim to motivate their employees. But just because they print it on a poster doesn't make it any more real. Apple is heartless…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morale
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