The late Apple CEO and founder Steve Jobs wanted the company he built into one of the world’s most profitable to endure long after he had departed. That meant thinking about how to maintain the unusual culture that produced hit products like the iPod and iPhone. Jobs’ unusual solution to the problem isn’t known by many outside the company. Despite its size and success, it seems Apple still has a few surprises left. Yesterday, Fortune unveiled the newest ranking of the Fortune 500, its annual list of the biggest corporations by revenue in American business and Apple placed it’s highest rank ever, at No. 3. Here are a few reasons why: