First I have to apologize for being so silent for the past few weeks. I was traveling (I know this is not an excuse but I was working a lot too) and I was out of Internet access… Don’t mention it, this is France, land of amazing progress and their associated contradictions. The Internet access providers really have to improve all aspects of customer support and communications, especially here.

Perfect timing to introduce a secrecy article on Apple. This very good Wired Magazine article explains how Jobs—since his 1997 comeback had gone against the grain in terms of openness. He keeps tight controls over his employees, even isolates them with particular security clearance on a need to know basis. The secrecy around product development, the closed OS and hardware and the company’s creative talent have all contributed to its immense business success. It’s almost a counterculture, contradicting the Valley’s recent way of doing things. Google and others pamper their employees. Not Jobs.

I think that protecting a brand, preserving its integrity as Apple has always done tells a lot about the identity and the style of the company. Steve Jobs reminds me of Guy Laliberté of Cirque du Soleil. They have the same determination and vision for the way their company should be run and how important branding is in the fundamental assertion of that direction. Preserving that capital is the utmost prerogative. Read the article to find out more…