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Money is a poor motivator and has been countlessly documented as such. If a (sinking) company (like palm) relies on this to keep their talent, then they are cl

Money is a poor motivator and has been countlessly documented as such. If a (sinking) company (like palm) relies on this to keep their talent, then they are clearly drowning. IMHO, Most employees are in this to see if they get a significant job title increase (status).

gojomo 16y ago
Impending sale is a unique situation where some of the other motivators are in serious doubt (control, status, etc.). No one can be credibly offered the other motivators when there's a chance of complete ownership change in the near future. ("The new owner might promote you; they might fire you. We can't guarantee either outcome because what we're selling is the option value.") None of the studies of motivation I've seen have specifically addressed such a situation. They concern motivating good work, not sticking around through a foreseen ownership discontinuity. A stay package may not make people happy and productive, but it does contractually keep them around, giving the new owners a reasonable chance of receiving the knowhow and functioning business, before eventually making their own personnel/motivation decisions. (That's why even though Fred Wilson is right about the stay packages' propriety and value, I don't think there's anything wrong with calling them 'bribes'. That's a vivid analogy for the sort of purchased-but-not-necessarily-enthusiastic compliance they can achieve.)
- jamesshamenski 16y ago
  agreed on all points.
cschneid 16y ago
But money can get you over that hiccup that a sales causes. The worries of going into an unknown environment can be enough to cause people to jump ship. But if you pay them, you get a year to sell your company to them as a long term solution.
fizx 16y ago
Cash may be an inefficient motivator. Perhaps an extra monitor (~$700) motivates some engineer more than a $2k/year raise. That doesn't mean that cash, especially in large quantities, has no motivational power.
- jamesshamenski 16y ago
  cash is not a good motivator. What money affords is the opportunity to attain a desire (power, consumption, freedom, increased peer perception). What motivates people is the ability to capture what they covet.
halostatue 16y ago
A decade ago, when the company I worked for was sold, I was given a sizeable retention package; one-third was paid thirty days after the sale closed, the rest six months later. My extant stock options were made given excellent strike prices. All told, it was roughly a six-figure package and it kept me with the company another fifteen months until it was clear that the new owners were, indeed, incompetent.

gojomo 16y ago

Impending sale is a unique situation where some of the other motivators are in serious doubt (control, status, etc.). No one can be credibly offered the other motivators when there's a chance of complete ownership change in the near future. ("The new owner might promote you; they might fire you. We can't guarantee either outcome because what we're selling is the option value.") None of the studies of motivation I've seen have specifically addressed such a situation. They concern motivating good work, not sticking around through a foreseen ownership discontinuity. A stay package may not make people happy and productive, but it does contractually keep them around, giving the new owners a reasonable chance of receiving the knowhow and functioning business, before eventually making their own personnel/motivation decisions. (That's why even though Fred Wilson is right about the stay packages' propriety and value, I don't think there's anything wrong with calling them 'bribes'. That's a vivid analogy for the sort of purchased-but-not-necessarily-enthusiastic compliance they can achieve.)

jamesshamenski 16y ago
agreed on all points.

cschneid 16y ago

But money can get you over that hiccup that a sales causes. The worries of going into an unknown environment can be enough to cause people to jump ship. But if you pay them, you get a year to sell your company to them as a long term solution.

fizx 16y ago

Cash may be an inefficient motivator. Perhaps an extra monitor (~$700) motivates some engineer more than a $2k/year raise. That doesn't mean that cash, especially in large quantities, has no motivational power.

jamesshamenski 16y ago
cash is not a good motivator. What money affords is the opportunity to attain a desire (power, consumption, freedom, increased peer perception). What motivates people is the ability to capture what they covet.

halostatue 16y ago

A decade ago, when the company I worked for was sold, I was given a sizeable retention package; one-third was paid thirty days after the sale closed, the rest six months later. My extant stock options were made given excellent strike prices. All told, it was roughly a six-figure package and it kept me with the company another fifteen months until it was clear that the new owners were, indeed, incompetent.