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This is a topic I've personally given a lot of thought. I worked for a Silicon Valley company that became quite successful. I made enough money to quit and li

This is a topic I've personally given a lot of thought. I worked for a Silicon Valley company that became quite successful. I made enough money to quit and live off the investment income. I got to the level of wealth I needed and it was enough for me and retired. I enjoyed my work and my job, but I also wanted to do other things in my life, and having a full-time job in Silicon Valley precluded that. I was at my employer early enough that I had quite a bit of personal contact with the CEO at this company, and he did not think like me at all. Money wasn't the main thing for him. He wants to chase down his competitor, watch it struggle in death, chew on the meat, bury the corpse, dig it up again, make sure it's dead, and then bury it again. This guy lives for the hunt, and the hunt is all there is. When I figured this out, I realized I could never be him. I couldn't summon that level of motivation on a constant basis even if I used every bit of my willpower. And I'm glad that I was on this guy's side and not his competitor.

zxcmx 7y ago
It's their thing though, right? It's their passion. The author seems to be making a weird argument, to me: If you're working for love, status or meaning (rather than need)... you should... stop? Morally? Because you have enough money already? There are poets, painters and golfers who continue their careers long after they achieve financial independence. I wonder if this author would describe them in the same terms. "You're too famous, get off the stage".
- skybrian 7y ago
  Well, the headline poses a question in binary terms about something that's a trade-off. People choose a job for some combination of motives: is the money good? Can you get the job? Do you like the work? Do you think it's important? When money is no longer a consideration, you might want to do different work, or consider volunteer work. Or do less work. It's a rare person who is doing the same thing they would do if they didn't need a paycheck.
- ViViDboarder 7y ago
  Maybe just take little to no additional pay and try to improve the ratio of pay between levels in your company? Then you can keep at your passion and maybe even improve productivity by employing a happier workforce. I wouldn’t be surprised if some executives do this. I know there are many that take $1 salaries and are compensated with equity, though I’m pretty sure that isn’t quite the same thing.
  - WalterSear 7y ago
    This would involve the opposite of the competitive instinct being describe here. IME - the type of executives being described here sees everyone else as a competitor. Moreover, the billionaire executives I have met/worked for didn't seem to 'enjoy the competition' as much as they seemed unable to comprehend any other way to live.

zxcmx 7y ago

It's their thing though, right? It's their passion. The author seems to be making a weird argument, to me: If you're working for love, status or meaning (rather than need)... you should... stop? Morally? Because you have enough money already? There are poets, painters and golfers who continue their careers long after they achieve financial independence. I wonder if this author would describe them in the same terms. "You're too famous, get off the stage".

skybrian 7y ago
Well, the headline poses a question in binary terms about something that's a trade-off. People choose a job for some combination of motives: is the money good? Can you get the job? Do you like the work? Do you think it's important? When money is no longer a consideration, you might want to do different work, or consider volunteer work. Or do less work. It's a rare person who is doing the same thing they would do if they didn't need a paycheck.
ViViDboarder 7y ago
Maybe just take little to no additional pay and try to improve the ratio of pay between levels in your company? Then you can keep at your passion and maybe even improve productivity by employing a happier workforce. I wouldn’t be surprised if some executives do this. I know there are many that take $1 salaries and are compensated with equity, though I’m pretty sure that isn’t quite the same thing.
- WalterSear 7y ago
  This would involve the opposite of the competitive instinct being describe here. IME - the type of executives being described here sees everyone else as a competitor. Moreover, the billionaire executives I have met/worked for didn't seem to 'enjoy the competition' as much as they seemed unable to comprehend any other way to live.