Google, China, and values

Last week I blogged about companies’ aspirations, including the values, and mentioned Google’s values as an example. They conclude the list with these words:

“Update: We first wrote these “10 things” several years ago. From time to time we revisit this list to see if it still holds true. We hope it does – and you can hold us to that. (September 2009)”

Well, I’m holding them to it, and this week, Google is showing what it means to do business in strict accordance with a company’s values, even though they are probably at strong odds.

If you haven’t heard, Google has stopped censoring its search results in China, and China has retaliated by blocking access by its users.

Under the headline “Google Founder Denounces ‘Totalitarianism'”, the Atlantic has good coverage here.

As this continues, all companies, including start-ups and expansion stage software companies, as well as their venture capital investors, should reflect on what their core business values are, and what they really mean.