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One of the things that outsiders tend not to immediately grok about Silicon Valley, because it's so friendly, open, and accessible, is that personal loyalty is unquestionably the one value that rules all the rest by a mile. It's as strong as in mafia or Trump inner circles.
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Above a minimum competence bar for technical and financial savvy, the social graph solves for loyalty above all. In particular, though the average level of integrity is the same as genpop, the pressure to sacrifice it for personal loyalty is vastly higher.
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"If your boss demands loyalty, give him integrity, if your boss demands integrity, give him loyalty" -- John Boyd. This rule of thumb does not really work in SV. The rule is "loyalty first always," and if you ever violate it, for integrity or whatever, you'll be shadowbanned :D
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And I do mean *personal* loyalty, not tribal. 1:1. It's not a YC/Stanford old-boys club. It just looks that way to people used to east coast old-boys-networks. The "tribal" level emerges out of really tight and frequently-tested personal loyalty equations.
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No, it really is open, friendly, and accessible to anybody willing to just show up, show off their talents, and be open. Unlike the east coast and other parts of the world, you don't have to jump through hoops to connect to people or get access.
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Replying to @vgr
Do you feel that SV is "friendly, open, and accessible" because you are part of the personal loyalty circle? Is it that way to people who are not part of the personal loyalty circle?
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