Everything is nearly zero sum when it comes to bonus and salary once you're a level or two below C-level, as it has to be. That's how budgets work, and the only

Everything is nearly zero sum when it comes to bonus and salary once you're a level or two below C-level, as it has to be. That's how budgets work, and the only people who get to determine "what % of company cash flow do we want to dedicate to personnel costs?" are pretty high up the ladder.