vividly illustrates.

Apple’s

vision of technically elegant

computers and its freewheeling corporate culture

attracted some of the most

creative engineers in the

world, who went on to develop a string of smash

products including the Apple II, the Macintosh, and

the PowerBook. As computers became commodities, Apple knew that its

continued health depended

on its ability to cut costs and

speed up time to market. Imposing the necessary discipline, however, ran counter

to the Apple culture, and top

management found itself frustrated whenever it tried to exert

more control. The engineers

simply refused to change their

ways. The relationships with

creative employees that enabled

Apple’s early growth ultimately

hindered it from responding to environmental changes.

Banc One is another company

that was hamstrung by its relationships with employees –inmii