swombat

24 ms·

181.
by swombat 10y ago
Some would argue that developing a purposeful organisation (whose purpose is not just to make money) actually also produces better returns, but I think the jury's still out on that. There are some striking examples but they might be ca
182.
by swombat 10y ago
Have a look at the companies listed halfway down the page on http://danieltenner.com/open-cultures/ . Not all qualify as purposeful orgs, but quite a few do. Reinventing Organisations, mentioned on this page too, is a
183.
by swombat 10y ago
Exactly. We know and recognise that pay scales are arbitrary. We are trying to get it right by neither underpaying nor overpaying. We are also trying to get it right by enabling a mature conversation on the topic, so instead of feeling unde
184.
by swombat 10y ago
This is a fantastic side-effect of transparent cultures and salary structure: people like you who, for reasons good or bad, do not want to work in this kind of environment, don't apply. You may believe that sets you apart as an "A
185.
by swombat 10y ago
In this discussion you're assuming the "employer" as a separate entity from the "employees". This was an enormously hard dichotomy for us to overcome, because it required me and my cofounder to let go of control ove
186.
by swombat 10y ago
Indeed. We are in a highly competitive market, and have a number of interesting projects going on to disrupt that market that won't pay off immediately. If we don't manage our costs reasonably well we won't stay in business.
187.
by swombat 10y ago
Generally, perhaps - not in our case. We pay what we (meaning, the staff, who decide their own pay) believe to be a good wage, and we have excellent work-life balance - we have a number of new parents who have commented that GrantTree has b
188.
by swombat 10y ago
> I don't see why paying people less would lead to an improvement in love, family, being a good person, respect, transparency, etc -- unless you're saying that due to pay difference vs market, you'll also expect less work
189.
by swombat 10y ago
That assumption doesn't bear out in practice, in my experience. There are plenty of people who believe that for-profit businesses can also achieve great, positive purposes in the world, and want to be a part of it. Cases in point: Tesl
190.
by swombat 10y ago
> To answer a likely reflex-response to this: that doesn't mean we think people should be working for free, or that we judge people who want to earn more money. It's totally fine to want to make more money. Different people hav
191.
by swombat 10y ago
Neither. We're a purposeful, for-profit, founder-owned[1] company. Just because we are for-profit doesn't mean profit is our only motivation. It's a false dichotomy to suggest that because you want to make money that must be
192.
by swombat 10y ago
No one is worth any intrinsic amount. The amount is relative to the work they do, the industry they're in, the state of the economy, how many other people can do that job, how many have actually applied, etc. Any salary formula is enti
193.
by swombat 10y ago
We're really trying to nail a good way to deal with salary negotiations when onboarding people, at GrantTree - one that gets out of this "gotcha" approach to salary. So far the best we've figured out is to be the first o
194.
by swombat 10y ago
It seems a bit harsh to me to call this "incredibly disrespectful". I doubt that "incredible disrespect" was intended, nor is it inherent to the statement. What I think you mean is that the grandparent comment strikes yo
195.
by swombat 10y ago
... or we'll hit you with this rubber hose until you tell us. https://xkcd.com/538/
196.
by swombat 10y ago
Hey Peter. What's the point of stories? Seems like a more limited version of Twitter - you can post photos and videos on twitter too... and there you have 21k followers. Surely a better place to post stuff if you want to reach an audie
197.
by swombat 10y ago
Your point still stands but I think 100k is a vast underestimate. I suspect there's much more than 100k in Silicon Valley/SF alone (though I don't live there so not sure). There's certainly tens of thousands in central L
198.
by swombat 10y ago
They have not. It's not Apple's style to make announcements about products they're not sure they'll release, and they won't release an Apple car unless they believe they can do it better than anyone else. I think it
199.
by swombat 10y ago
Policemen are public servants who are trusted with use of force in normal society. If they want to keep their privacy they should go and do something else where they don't get to occasionally legally beat up or shoot someone.
200.
by swombat 10y ago
Not sure why you're being downvoted. I am running one of those companies. Calling it structureless is as misleading as calling agile chaotic. The "Green" stage can feel a little like the tyranny this article describes, but th
201.
by swombat 10y ago
An even better solution: let the competitive advantages be given only by doing things the computer is bad at and human beings enjoy doing. If you get a competitive advantage from doing something like grinding, which computers can do better
202.
by swombat 10y ago
> I will say that if you take a broader perspective of the self, then death is not quite as sharp and painful as it first appears. A statement that I agree with, but which is of course meaningless to those who are filled with a total dre
203.
by swombat 10y ago
Completely agree. I don't believe authoritarian dictates are a way to achieve good aims in this century. And yet we must live with this type of organisation, for now, because we are still developing the alternatives...
204.
by swombat 10y ago
It's almost as if the "city council" or "government" is an entity composed of multiple people who are human and have conflicting agendas, visions, opinions, dreams, etc (sometimes within a single person) and so end
205.
by swombat 10y ago
Walls are so passé. Panopticons have been the modern way to keep people in check since sometime back in the 18th/19th Century in Europe. After all, when you have nothing to hide, you are nothing to fear...
206.
by swombat 10y ago
Using your power, whatever it may be, to help others is one thing. Deliberately, actively, perhaps even desperately seeking more power to help more people is another. The first is a form of compassion. The other is a form of pride. Why do t
207.
by swombat 10y ago
When I hear that the US still hasn't adopted chip+pin it sort of sounds unbelievable. This is the country that created VISA International, after all - a fantastic story chronicled in Dee Hock (founder of VISA)'s book. It seems lik
208.
by swombat 10y ago
If they're doing this for China, what do you figure they've been doing for the US government?
209.
by swombat 10y ago
A much better and denser option for storing energy mechanically is flywheels. I haven't researched what happened to this option since but when I was looking into it 15 years ago it seemed like a good option that needed more R&D int
210.
by swombat 11y ago
I found it pretty clear... just ignore the bit in the em dashes: > Sberbank (Savings Bank in Russian) engaged the Podesta Group to help its public image and specifically to help lift some of the pain of sanctions placed on Russia in the

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