Google’s motto is Don’t Be Evil. Now it’s CEO Eric Schmidt explained this under a different light then I used to look at it:
How has "Don't be evil" helped Google? When I showed up, I said, “You’ve got to be kidding.” Then one day, very early on, I was in a meeting where an engineer said, “That would be evil.” It was as if he’d said there was a murderer in the room. The whole conversation stopped, but then people challenged his assumptions. This had to do with how we would link our advertising system into search. We ultimately decided not to do what was proposed, because it was evil. That kind of story is repeated every hour now with thousands of people. Think of “Don’t be evil” as an organizing principle about values. You and I may disagree on the definition of what is evil, but at least it gives us a way to have a very healthy debate.
But as you’ve grown, outsiders apply their own view of what is evil and use it to point out your company’s flaws. There’s nothing wrong with that. We believe in that sort of criticism. But the way “Don’t be evil” works is no different from pulling the rip cord on the Japanese assembly line. Any person on the assembly line can pull the rip cord to stop the line. Think of it as employee empowerment.
I particularily liked the comparison with Toyota: “Don’t be evil” works is no different from pulling the rip cord on the Japanese assembly line. So under that aspect I believe that many companies, especially the ones who are developing a product, would profit from such a mantra or cord if you like that metapher better.
(Link to interview found via SearchEngineWatch)