[roenxi]

> Compare to The Mafia Code:

Including that doesn't help your argument much. And apart from "do not be an informer" and "don't rock the boat" the mafia code is pretty much unarguably good advice. Employees should be following it.

We'd all be better off if everyone was rational, honourable, independent and classy.

[romwell]

I thought my point was obvious, but no, it's HN and I have to spell out everything explicitly.

The Mafia Code isn't bad because it has bad stuff.

The Mafia Code is bad because it doesn't prohibit awful stuff.

The Mafia Code says nothing about being not evil, or, for that matter, not killing your enemies, not extorting non-mafia people, and so on.

It's all about being loyal to, and protecting the interests of the Family.

Which is what Google aims to be - one big family, which will take care of all your needs, as long as you follow the code.

[roenxi]

The majority of the code is talking about personal values (working backwards up the list, I'm counting independence, class, worldly knowledge, being a stand-up guy, being observational, honourable, amenable, strategic, rational). The parts that deal with being part of a group are not that unusual either - everyone is part of a group and that isn't a problem. Employers all want to be a little like a family.

If you want to argue that Google is promoting these values amongst it's employees that is fine; but that is a great idea on Google's part. It isn't strengthening your argument.