Steve Jobs

Public RegisterJune 2010

Steve Jobs

CEO, Apple · All Things Digital D8 Conference

“We never saw ourselves in a platform war with Google. They decided to compete with us, but we just focus on making great products that delight users.”

Private ArtifactOctober 24, 2010

Steve Jobs

CEO, Apple · Apple Top 100 Strategy Memo

“2011: Holy War with Google... all out effort to tie all our products together, further lock customers into our ecosystem... catch up to Android where we are behind (notifications, tethering, speech).”

The Split:Jobs insisted to journalists that Apple did not engage in platform wars and only focused on product delight. In his agenda for Apple’s most confidential executive retreat, the official headline for 2011 was a Holy War with Google explicitly aimed at locking customers into Apple’s ecosystem.

The Tell:Public statements that dismiss competition as an afterthought are usually accompanied by executive retreat agendas declaring holy war.

Pipe: courtUnsealed in Epic Games v. Apple and Samsung v. Apple discovery.

euphemismtech-labor·2010

Thermonuclear War on Android

Public RegisterApril 8, 2010

Steve Jobs

Chief Executive Officer, Apple · iPhone OS 4 Press Event Q&A

“We have a great relationship with Google. We carry their search on the iPhone, we carry their Maps on the iPhone. We're partners with them on many things.”

Private Artifact2010

Steve Jobs

Chief Executive Officer, Apple · Executive briefing unsealed in Apple v. Samsung

“I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.”

The Split:To journalists and consumers, Jobs projected serene confidence in a collaborative Silicon Valley partnership with Google. In private legal and executive war rooms, he demanded total legal and commercial annihilation of Android.

The Tell:When the CEO smiles at a product keynote while privately drafting litigation that threatens to incinerate the partner's entire software stack, the press release register has separated completely from corporate strategy.

Pipe: courtAdmitted and unsealed in Northern District of California during Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co.

paper-trailtech-labor·2005 / unsealed 2014

If you hire a single one of these people that means war

Public Register2005

Steve Jobs

Stanford Commencement Address & Keynotes · Stanford Commencement

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. Don’t settle.”

Private Artifact2005

Steve Jobs to Sergey Brin & Eric Schmidt

executive communications · Direct email to Google leadership

“If you hire a single one of these people from our iPod team, that means war. We will match you lawsuit for lawsuit and take this to the mat.”

The Split:Jobs inspired a generation of graduates to never settle and follow their passion. Behind closed doors, when his engineers sought to move to Google, he privately threatened all-out corporate war unless Google blacklisted them.

The Tell:Inspirational rhetoric about empowering creative genius often masks behind-the-scenes cartels designed to suppress employee mobility.

Pipe: courtUnsealed in High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation.

paper-trailtech-labor·2007 / unsealed 2014

Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt's handshake deal

Public Register2007

Steve Jobs & Eric Schmidt

CEOs of Apple and Google · Joint public appearances and industry panels

“Silicon Valley is an open, merit-based ecosystem where engineers and designers are fiercely competed for based on world-class innovation and talent.”

Private ArtifactMarch 7, 2007

Steve Jobs to Eric Schmidt

private email exchange · Direct email from Jobs to Schmidt

“Jobs: 'I am told that your recruiter is aggressively trying to recruit an Apple engineer. I would be very pleased if we could stop this.' Schmidt to HR: 'Please get this recruiter fired within the hour.' Schmidt to Jobs: 'Recruiter terminated.' Jobs to Schmidt: ':)'”

The Split:While celebrating fierce competition for talent, Jobs demanded the firing of an ordinary recruiter who contacted an Apple engineer. Schmidt complied within an hour, and Jobs replied with a smiley face.

The Tell:An anti-poaching pact is evidenced not by a grand conspiracy contract, but by a 2-character smiley face closing an executive backchannel.

Pipe: courtUnsealed in High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Cal.).

euphemismtech-labor·2007 / unsealed 2014

Jobs threatening Palm with patent warfare

Public Register2007

Steve Jobs

CEO, Apple · All Things Digital (D5 Conference)

“We don't worry about competitors copying our products or hiring our people. We just focus on making the best products in the world and letting customers decide.”

Private ArtifactAugust 2007

Steve Jobs to Edward Colligan

email correspondence · Direct email from Jobs to Palm CEO

“Colligan: 'Your proposal that we agree not to hire each other's employees is not only wrong, it is likely illegal.' Jobs: 'I'm sure you realize the asymmetry in the financial resources of our respective companies... We have substantial patents. Think about the consequences.'”

The Split:Jobs told journalists he didn't worry about competitors hiring staff. When Palm CEO Ed Colligan told him a no-hire pact was illegal, Jobs threatened to crush Palm financially with patent litigation.

The Tell:The phrase 'focus on making great products' in public frequently masks predatory legal bullying behind the curtain.

Pipe: courtDOJ Antitrust unsealed exhibits.

paper-trailtech-labor·2007 / unsealed 2014

Keep it verbal, do not create a paper trail

Public Register2007

Google Code of Conduct

official employee policy · Google Investor Relations

“Don't be evil. We believe in transparency, honesty, and treating our employees and candidates with fairness and respect.”

Private Artifact2007

Eric Schmidt

CEO, Google · Internal email to Shona Brown, Senior VP of People Operations

“I would prefer that you keep this verbal and not create a paper trail over email, as I don't want to get sued later if someone subpoenas us.”

The Split:Google preached 'Don't be evil' and corporate transparency. Eric Schmidt explicitly instructed his head of HR to keep the wage-suppressing hiring cartel strictly verbal so that no subpoena could uncover it.

The Tell:'Please do not put this in writing' is the purest admission of preference falsification in enterprise existence.

Pipe: courtDiscovery in Koh courtroom, San Jose federal court.

safety-theatertech-labor·2010 / unsealed 2021

iBooks will be the only bookstore. Let’s make them pay.

Public Register2011

Phil Schiller

Senior VP Worldwide Product Marketing, Apple · Apple Official App Store Guidelines Press Briefing

“Our 30% fee is fair compensation for the incredible platform, security, and curation we offer. We treat every developer equally without playing favorites.”

Private ArtifactNovember 22, 2010

Steve Jobs to Phil Schiller & Eddy Cue

executive email exchange · Internal email thread unsealed in Epic v. Apple

“Jobs: I think this is all pretty simple: iBooks is going to be the only bookstore on iOS devices. We should tell Amazon: you either use our in-app payment and pay us 30%, or you can not be in the App Store. Let’s make them pay.”