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Thanks for all the great comments on NewCo Compensation Principles, both public and private. Great food for thought.

Rob, I agree with your assertion: corporate feudalism is the norm today. Most companies have the equivalent of royalty, nobility, knights and serfs, both in terms of power structure and compensation allocation. Serfs are told they can climb the ladder to become royalty, but in reality that’s out of reach for most. If conditions are oppressive for long enough the serfs will revolt. And while a “revolt” these days won’t result in beheadings, it at least means poisonous morale, lower productivity, and unwanted employee attrition. (OK, we’re mainly talking about tech companies here, and tech compensation packages these days are hardly oppressive, even for serfs. But you get the point… it’s about perceived fairness.) Continue reading →

How many people, out of everyone who has ever lived on Earth, find work in their lifetime that they truly love doing? Almost none, I suspect. This topic is often on my mind; at least once a year I pop up from the rabbit hole and ask, “Do I love this job? How long should I keep doing it? What needs to change? What else could I be doing instead?” If you’re obssessed with the same meme, check out Paul Graham’s essay, How to Do What You Love.

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