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Leaving a cult is the ultimate sin in most cults, so it is not surprising at all. Any Apple employees reading this that want out, here’s a guide for help. htt

Leaving a cult is the ultimate sin in most cults, so it is not surprising at all. Any Apple employees reading this that want out, here’s a guide for help. https://www.wikihow.com/Leave-a-Cult https://www.wikihow.com/Leave-a-Cult

wpietri 5y ago
Wow. I have read a bunch of cult-escapee biographies, as the cult dynamic fascinated me. All of them had an extreme narcissist at the center. Somehow I had never connected that with the famous tech company with an extreme narcissist at the center. But you're right, that pattern of retaliation against people who dare to leave fits perfectly here.
- HWR_14 5y ago
  I mean, I don't feel like Tim Cook is an extreme narcissist cult leader, but I don't know enough about him. Of course, the fact that he hasn't mythologized himself as much as Steve Jobs did is a piece of evidence in favor of him not being a narcissist. If I had to choose a "tech company cult" it would be Tesla/SpaceX/Boring/whatever else Musk is running.
  - eloisant 5y ago
    Apple was clearly a cult company when Steve Jobs was CEO, and I feel like they continued to work as they did by inertia.
  - bitwize 5y ago
    Tim Cook could just be the Miscavige to Jobs's Hubbard. The charismatic, narcissistic cult leader often has a bulldog of a right hand man who enforces order and compliance, keeping the cult together even after the leader is gone.
  - snowwrestler 5y ago
    The narcissistic personality at the center of Apple’s culture today is Apple itself. Even Cook speaks in near-reverential tones about the company he leads. Most corporations try to do this in the long run; it’s arguably inherent in the concept of incorporation, which is etymologically and legally the creation of a new “person.” Even if it starts with an iconic founder, in the long run the company itself must become the object of loyalty to survive. Comms, HR, and marketing teams spend tons of effort to create a corporate personality and culture. (Note the root of the word culture.) Apple famously set up their own “university” to develop and instill their culture. Loyalty to the company, distrust of outsiders, personal adherence in a “mission”: these are not things specific to or invented by Apple. Although the specific vindictive tactic of hiding titles is one that I’ve not heard of before.
    - wpietri 5y ago
      Ooh, that's an interesting take. The notion is basically that Apple has gone from "cult" to "church", where it has transcended the reliance on a central personal figure? You've got me going through the ABCDEF in a new way: http://www.neopagan.net/ABCDEF.html http://www.neopagan.net/ABCDEF.html
  - wpietri 5y ago
    Just to be clear, I'm speaking about Jobs who was by most accounts an abusive narcissist. Cook is currently CEO, sure, but Jobs is still a central character. As I'm sure you know, sometimes cults survive the death of their leaders.

wpietri 5y ago

Wow. I have read a bunch of cult-escapee biographies, as the cult dynamic fascinated me. All of them had an extreme narcissist at the center. Somehow I had never connected that with the famous tech company with an extreme narcissist at the center. But you're right, that pattern of retaliation against people who dare to leave fits perfectly here.

HWR_14 5y ago
I mean, I don't feel like Tim Cook is an extreme narcissist cult leader, but I don't know enough about him. Of course, the fact that he hasn't mythologized himself as much as Steve Jobs did is a piece of evidence in favor of him not being a narcissist. If I had to choose a "tech company cult" it would be Tesla/SpaceX/Boring/whatever else Musk is running.
- eloisant 5y ago
  Apple was clearly a cult company when Steve Jobs was CEO, and I feel like they continued to work as they did by inertia.
- bitwize 5y ago
  Tim Cook could just be the Miscavige to Jobs's Hubbard. The charismatic, narcissistic cult leader often has a bulldog of a right hand man who enforces order and compliance, keeping the cult together even after the leader is gone.
- snowwrestler 5y ago
  The narcissistic personality at the center of Apple’s culture today is Apple itself. Even Cook speaks in near-reverential tones about the company he leads. Most corporations try to do this in the long run; it’s arguably inherent in the concept of incorporation, which is etymologically and legally the creation of a new “person.” Even if it starts with an iconic founder, in the long run the company itself must become the object of loyalty to survive. Comms, HR, and marketing teams spend tons of effort to create a corporate personality and culture. (Note the root of the word culture.) Apple famously set up their own “university” to develop and instill their culture. Loyalty to the company, distrust of outsiders, personal adherence in a “mission”: these are not things specific to or invented by Apple. Although the specific vindictive tactic of hiding titles is one that I’ve not heard of before.
  - wpietri 5y ago
    Ooh, that's an interesting take. The notion is basically that Apple has gone from "cult" to "church", where it has transcended the reliance on a central personal figure? You've got me going through the ABCDEF in a new way: http://www.neopagan.net/ABCDEF.html http://www.neopagan.net/ABCDEF.html
- wpietri 5y ago
  Just to be clear, I'm speaking about Jobs who was by most accounts an abusive narcissist. Cook is currently CEO, sure, but Jobs is still a central character. As I'm sure you know, sometimes cults survive the death of their leaders.