By The Time You Give Them a Raise, They’re Already Out The Door
There’s an endless amount written on the ‘net about hiring Rockstars. Finding them, not settling, and all that. That you need to spend 20%+ of time recruiting (I said that myself here). That the #1 most important thing you can do is put together a great team. Which is absolutely true. But the #2 most [...]
The 3+ Reasons Why Dan Pink’s Compensation & Motivation Advice is Bullsh*t
When I worked for Autodesk from the mid to late 1990’s the company was routinely recognized as having one of the best corporate cultures. Dogs allowed at work, unlimited free soft drinks, 6 week paid sabbaticals, flexible work hours, plenty of autonomy, mastery and purpose. But then something happened. Thousands of DotCom companies started hiring [...]
Freemium model of employment
There are always risks to finding a job, one of the ways you can look for something to do while you are looking for the perfect gig is to do many forms of volunteerism. One other option though is the “Freemium Model” of employment where you give your time to a company for a percentage [...]
Why I’m Contrary on Compensation
When I was a teenager, I spent two summers working in a furniture manufacturing factory. The company, Steelcase, was (and still is) one of the largest office furniture manufacturers in the world. I worked in the binder-bin plant – a binder-bin is the cabinet that mounts on the back of your desk at about eye-level. [...]
The Fallacy of Channels: Startups Beware
This is part of my ongoing series on startup advice but also filed under my sales & marketing posts. No advice I give will ever apply to 100% of companies, 100% of startups or even 100% of tech startups. I just want to state that up front because while I believe that this post will [...]
Don’t Roll out the Red Carpet on the Way out the Door
This is part of my Startup Advice series. Before I started my first company in 1999 I worked for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). One of the things I noticed was that when really talented people – The “A players” – wanted to quit, the firm would quickly scramble to try and keep that person from [...]
