7 ms·

We want people who are motivated by the mission.

LargeWu 10y ago
If the mission is feeding starving children, or curing cancer, or public service, then yes, I want people who are motivated by the mission. But usually the mission, the real mission, is to make the founders exceptionally wealthy, and forgive me if that doesn't get me out of bed in the morning.
- andybak 10y ago
  This man speaks the truth. :-) I think it's a lost battle but I used to rage whenever I saw a company talk about their 'Vision'. Unless you're a poet, religious mystic or philosopher king - then you're being pretentious and grandiose.
  - tenkabuto 10y ago
    Assuming that I am a cash-strapped philosopher king with a grand vision for my business, how might I sway people to take the vision seriously and work towards the fulfillment of the vision?
    - LargeWu 10y ago
      I'm assuming the vision you're trying to sell is to make the philosopher king wealthy. (Your stated vision is probably irrelevant.) You need to make your employees' incentives align with that proposition.
      - tenkabuto 10y ago
        Oh OK. What if we assumed that the vision is not concerned with making me, the philosopher king, wealthy?
- crdoconnor 10y ago
  >If the mission is feeding starving children, or curing cancer, or public service You're typically expected to take a pay cut if you're doing any of these.
  - jazzyk 10y ago
    Public service pay cuts? Not really. This is for CA, but other states are not too far off. http://publicpay.ca.gov/ http://publicpay.ca.gov/ And don't forget life-long pensions at 80% salary. How many distinguished engineers make anywhere close to these amounts (whether public or private)? Close to zero.
    - cortesoft 10y ago
      80k was the top bracket? I am pretty sure most developers in California make a lot more than that, especially top ones.
      - jazzyk 10y ago
        Select "100 top salaries"
        monknomo 10y ago
        But those seem mostly like chief investment officers, CEOs, doctors, dentists and surgeons... I mean, public service can pay well if you are a commissioner or head of a for-profit part of public service. I'm not sure there is much of a comparison to be made for software developers, though.
        jazzyk 10y ago
        I was just pointing out that public service can pay as well as private sector - if not better (pensions at 80% pay!).
        10y ago
- kisna72 10y ago
  Even if the mission is to cure cancer, thats the worst reason to not pay people well. Those are the most difficult problems, and you definitely need the best people to solve the hardest problems. If the idea is to pay people really poor because that problem is so difficult, I think its a bad idea and simply taking advantage of people, not to mention the best people will go solve other problems that pay them well.
  - Loughla 10y ago
    This is the problem with education (and all non-profits for that matter). 1. People work in education because they love the work, not the money. 2. We don't need to pay educators well because they're not the tops in their fields. 3. We can't recruit top candidates because the pay is shit. 4. Rinse, repeat.
- FireBeyond 10y ago
  "We want to change the world, by finding a more efficient way to bike courier organic Nicaraguan coffee beans to your doorstep in the Mission or SoMa."
  - NoMoreNicksLeft 10y ago
    My god, this is genius. Let me throw investment money at you. Just be sure not to pay the programmers more than $11/hour.
- fu9ar 10y ago
  Human service workers, biomedical researchers, and etc. still need to make a living too. The problem is that a small sector of the people in the world are being ridiculously greedy.
blisterpeanuts 10y ago
Yup, and if I get a nice block of stock options, then I'll be just as motivated as the founders! Been there.
IndianAstronaut 10y ago
>We want people who are motivated by the mission Startup hiring process in a nutshell.
lanestp 10y ago
This drives me nuts! I don't know why I should be motivated by YOUR mission! Especially when your mission is to make as much money as possible in an easily exploited niche you found!
- vasilipupkin 10y ago
  Not all companies are the same. Sure, all companies exist to make money for shareholders, but some companies make cigarettes while other companies make life saving drugs. So, yes, it does make sense to take the company's mission into account when deciding whether to work there or not
  - hvs 10y ago
    Companies that make life saving drugs aren't usually short on money.
    - kamjam 10y ago
      If a company made a life saving drug and then released the patent say after 5 years of exploitation, I'd agree with the argument as well.
raverbashing 10y ago
Ah yes, "The Mission" Sure, some of them have a social aspect, something interesting, etc But for others I can't see how they manage to say it with a straight face
ArkyBeagle 10y ago
So does ISIS.
- nickpsecurity 10y ago
  And you see what results they get in the U.S. markets. Maybe more rational management and pay of experienced professionals would've helped them. They said they weren't mission-oriented and lacked "culture fit," though. So, their numbers are all over the place, goals aren't being met, and competition is all over their territory. Now ISIS and other startups in that sector can feel free to continue being idiots. The locals need to avoid making the same mistakes, though. ;)

If the mission is feeding starving children, or curing cancer, or public service, then yes, I want people who are motivated by the mission. But usually the mission, the real mission, is to make the founders exceptionally wealthy, and forgive me if that doesn't get me out of bed in the morning.

andybak 10y ago
This man speaks the truth. :-) I think it's a lost battle but I used to rage whenever I saw a company talk about their 'Vision'. Unless you're a poet, religious mystic or philosopher king - then you're being pretentious and grandiose.
- tenkabuto 10y ago
  Assuming that I am a cash-strapped philosopher king with a grand vision for my business, how might I sway people to take the vision seriously and work towards the fulfillment of the vision?
  - LargeWu 10y ago
    I'm assuming the vision you're trying to sell is to make the philosopher king wealthy. (Your stated vision is probably irrelevant.) You need to make your employees' incentives align with that proposition.
    - tenkabuto 10y ago
      Oh OK. What if we assumed that the vision is not concerned with making me, the philosopher king, wealthy?
crdoconnor 10y ago
>If the mission is feeding starving children, or curing cancer, or public service You're typically expected to take a pay cut if you're doing any of these.
- jazzyk 10y ago
  Public service pay cuts? Not really. This is for CA, but other states are not too far off. http://publicpay.ca.gov/ http://publicpay.ca.gov/ And don't forget life-long pensions at 80% salary. How many distinguished engineers make anywhere close to these amounts (whether public or private)? Close to zero.
  - cortesoft 10y ago
    80k was the top bracket? I am pretty sure most developers in California make a lot more than that, especially top ones.
    - jazzyk 10y ago
      Select "100 top salaries"
      - monknomo 10y ago
        But those seem mostly like chief investment officers, CEOs, doctors, dentists and surgeons... I mean, public service can pay well if you are a commissioner or head of a for-profit part of public service. I'm not sure there is much of a comparison to be made for software developers, though.
        jazzyk 10y ago
        I was just pointing out that public service can pay as well as private sector - if not better (pensions at 80% pay!).
        10y ago
kisna72 10y ago
Even if the mission is to cure cancer, thats the worst reason to not pay people well. Those are the most difficult problems, and you definitely need the best people to solve the hardest problems. If the idea is to pay people really poor because that problem is so difficult, I think its a bad idea and simply taking advantage of people, not to mention the best people will go solve other problems that pay them well.
- Loughla 10y ago
  This is the problem with education (and all non-profits for that matter). 1. People work in education because they love the work, not the money. 2. We don't need to pay educators well because they're not the tops in their fields. 3. We can't recruit top candidates because the pay is shit. 4. Rinse, repeat.
FireBeyond 10y ago
"We want to change the world, by finding a more efficient way to bike courier organic Nicaraguan coffee beans to your doorstep in the Mission or SoMa."
- NoMoreNicksLeft 10y ago
  My god, this is genius. Let me throw investment money at you. Just be sure not to pay the programmers more than $11/hour.
fu9ar 10y ago
Human service workers, biomedical researchers, and etc. still need to make a living too. The problem is that a small sector of the people in the world are being ridiculously greedy.

blisterpeanuts 10y ago

Yup, and if I get a nice block of stock options, then I'll be just as motivated as the founders! Been there.

IndianAstronaut 10y ago

>We want people who are motivated by the mission Startup hiring process in a nutshell.

lanestp 10y ago

This drives me nuts! I don't know why I should be motivated by YOUR mission! Especially when your mission is to make as much money as possible in an easily exploited niche you found!

vasilipupkin 10y ago
Not all companies are the same. Sure, all companies exist to make money for shareholders, but some companies make cigarettes while other companies make life saving drugs. So, yes, it does make sense to take the company's mission into account when deciding whether to work there or not
- hvs 10y ago
  Companies that make life saving drugs aren't usually short on money.
  - kamjam 10y ago
    If a company made a life saving drug and then released the patent say after 5 years of exploitation, I'd agree with the argument as well.

raverbashing 10y ago

Ah yes, "The Mission" Sure, some of them have a social aspect, something interesting, etc But for others I can't see how they manage to say it with a straight face

ArkyBeagle 10y ago

So does ISIS.

nickpsecurity 10y ago
And you see what results they get in the U.S. markets. Maybe more rational management and pay of experienced professionals would've helped them. They said they weren't mission-oriented and lacked "culture fit," though. So, their numbers are all over the place, goals aren't being met, and competition is all over their territory. Now ISIS and other startups in that sector can feel free to continue being idiots. The locals need to avoid making the same mistakes, though. ;)