Interesting, to belabor the sports team metaphor, culture does indeed seem to be an alternative to max salaries. C.f., Spurs being one of the most winningest te

Interesting, to belabor the sports team metaphor, culture does indeed seem to be an alternative to max salaries. C.f., Spurs being one of the most winningest teams in the past couple decades, Tom Brady taking pay cuts in order to maintain and foster a dynasty, and Steph Curry doing similar. In all these cases, a great coach (read, CEO) has fostered a strict but burgeoning cultures which rewards its members through a shared success in what they love and not an individual's compensation. Of course this analogy can be dangerous. Athlete's get paid extraordinary sums, even while sitting on a bench 99% of the season. Whereas many employees have to worry about their own compensation simply to survive, and such selling of culture as a supplement to compensation won't always put food in your mouth (and thus can be exploitative). Nonetheless, I appreciate your comment, you brought up an interesting view on workplace culture that I never thought about.