Apple’s secrecy when it comes to product development is one of the defining characteristics of the company. But a former Apple HR exec said that it came at a high price: engineer burnout and frustration. Ultimately, he argues, it stifled innovation within the company.
Chris Deaver, who was a senior HR business partner at Apple from 2015 to 2019, says that the company tried an experiment with the development of AirPods Pro, to see whether it was possible to create a more collaborative working environment while still ensuring secrecy …
Deaver wrote in a Fast Company piece that he understood Apple’s motivation for secrecy.
Secrecy is a value it held dear, to preserve the “surprise and delight” for customers. The kind that arrives on the day of launch when nobody (not even most employees) anticipate how insanely great new products will be.
But he said that he very quickly realized the dark side of different teams working in silos.
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