4 ms·

This all sounds nice but it's missing the concrete details and that's the most important part. "Build into core values wanting to create a culture where the en

This all sounds nice but it's missing the concrete details and that's the most important part. "Build into core values wanting to create a culture where the end-user is the priority, not individual advancement up the ladder" Is there any non-exploitative way to interpret this? The only thing worse than wasting my time on features for promo rather than users is working overtime to make more money for those with significant equity/ownership in ways that will never seriously affect my comp. Without promo or "promo by a different name" i.e. money, how do you incentivize people? How do you decide who to allocate your finite equity and money to?

HWR_14 5y ago
Why combine two problems working overtime without compensation and promotion focused culture?
- Arainach 5y ago
  A culture where I'm supposed to be working for "the user" rather than for my own benefit is inherently exploitative. Employment is a contract. If I stop delivering value, the company will fire me. As they say, the reward for being good at your job is more work. Expecting me to put in top effort for "the users" without compensating me doesn't work. The idea that you can fix this with culture is wrong. It's been tried many times at many companies and it doesn't work for anyone but the owners. Unless you own a significant (let's say >5%) piece of the company, those late nights you work for "the user" will never be worth it to you.
  - mhss 5y ago
    > As they say, the reward for being good at your job is more work. Expecting me to put in top effort for "the users" without compensating me doesn't work. You do not work for free. You are being paid. 'Top effort' needs not to translate to working overtime, more hours, etc.
    - Arainach 5y ago
      That's not a popular school of thought in American business schools.
billllll 5y ago
It reads a bit unintentionally exploitive as well. You're essentially asking employees to put the companies growth ahead of their compensation. This passage specifically: > For as long as possible, make the success of the company the primary motivator, rather than promo How do you simply make the success of the company the primary motivator? IMO, you either try real hard to pay/promote them based on the success of the company, which feeds into the promo culture problem, or you find people to work towards the company's success without explicit promises of rewards, maybe by alluding to potential rewards you may/may-not give them (aka maybe exploiting them). One alternative is you can find people who are satisfied with their place in life, and willing to just crank out work regularly without promises of increased rewards. IME, people like that AND skilled enough are very rare. It would be very hard to build a company of solely those people.
thethethethe 5y ago
> Is there any non-exploitative way to interpret this? The only thing worse than wasting my time on features for promo rather than users is working overtime to make more money for those with significant equity/ownership in ways that will never seriously affect my comp. Without promo or "promo by a different name" i.e. money, how do you incentivize people? How do you decide who to allocate your finite equity and money to? Easy, there is no promo, you just pay everyone 450k like Netflix and raise everyone's pay each year to stay at the top of the market.

HWR_14 5y ago

Why combine two problems working overtime without compensation and promotion focused culture?

Arainach 5y ago
A culture where I'm supposed to be working for "the user" rather than for my own benefit is inherently exploitative. Employment is a contract. If I stop delivering value, the company will fire me. As they say, the reward for being good at your job is more work. Expecting me to put in top effort for "the users" without compensating me doesn't work. The idea that you can fix this with culture is wrong. It's been tried many times at many companies and it doesn't work for anyone but the owners. Unless you own a significant (let's say >5%) piece of the company, those late nights you work for "the user" will never be worth it to you.
- mhss 5y ago
  > As they say, the reward for being good at your job is more work. Expecting me to put in top effort for "the users" without compensating me doesn't work. You do not work for free. You are being paid. 'Top effort' needs not to translate to working overtime, more hours, etc.
  - Arainach 5y ago
    That's not a popular school of thought in American business schools.

billllll 5y ago

It reads a bit unintentionally exploitive as well. You're essentially asking employees to put the companies growth ahead of their compensation. This passage specifically: > For as long as possible, make the success of the company the primary motivator, rather than promo How do you simply make the success of the company the primary motivator? IMO, you either try real hard to pay/promote them based on the success of the company, which feeds into the promo culture problem, or you find people to work towards the company's success without explicit promises of rewards, maybe by alluding to potential rewards you may/may-not give them (aka maybe exploiting them). One alternative is you can find people who are satisfied with their place in life, and willing to just crank out work regularly without promises of increased rewards. IME, people like that AND skilled enough are very rare. It would be very hard to build a company of solely those people.

thethethethe 5y ago

> Is there any non-exploitative way to interpret this? The only thing worse than wasting my time on features for promo rather than users is working overtime to make more money for those with significant equity/ownership in ways that will never seriously affect my comp. Without promo or "promo by a different name" i.e. money, how do you incentivize people? How do you decide who to allocate your finite equity and money to? Easy, there is no promo, you just pay everyone 450k like Netflix and raise everyone's pay each year to stay at the top of the market.