Comments on: Incentives and Legends

By: Anreize und Legenden

Anreize und Legenden — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 15:16:45 +0000

[...] Unternehmer und der frühen Start-Team alle müssen durch eine gemeinsame Vision, Leidenschaft und Lust, ein großes Unternehmen bauen motiviert werden. Dennoch ist es dem Unternehmen Legenden, die live auf Fonds. Raising Unser kleines Startup war weniger als ein Jahr alt. Wir waren damit beschäftigt Montage unser Team und hatte gerade das letzte Mitglied unserer [eingestellt. . . ] URL des Original-Artikel http://steveblank.com/2010/02/01/incentives-and-legends/ [...]

By: Aaron

Aaron — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 03:15:29 +0000

When you work that hard for a boss, that kind of gesture and joke doesn’t make you feel bad at all. It dramatically deepens your commitment level by demonstrating the value you brought to the team.

Great story.

By: Noumenon

Noumenon — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:43:05 +0000

Whether you disagree with the behavior or not, I don’t see the point of trying to ruin Steve’s happy memory by criticizing so harshly. It’s a sad fact of life that a lot of the moments you were happiest make you cringe when you look back at them — don’t contribute to that.

I personally thought the story was so well told that it works even if your reaction to it in real life would be different. There’s a lot of emotional setup without revealing the twist at the end.

By: jorge

jorge — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:45:49 +0000

I’m glad I read this blog. Another great story.

Thanks.

By: Matt Kaplan

Matt Kaplan — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:19:29 +0000

Steve,

Despite some of the negative comments, I found this story to be inspiring and the lessons learned to be spot on. Having been in 3 start-ups working directly for the CEOs, I’ve done my share of what I’d consider spectacular stunts. Sure, I got some annual bonuses along the way, but the auto-deposited check never felt as good as the time I got an unexpected gift.

I was killing myself trying to get a large deal done for the company and my boss saw me drooling over the new $350 Bose headphones while walking through the airport together. He knew I’d never spend my own money on it, so he took the company credit card out and bought them for me. To this day, when I put the headphones on, I think about his generosity and how great it made me feel that my efforts were appreciated in more than just the traditional ways.

Sincerely,
Matt Kaplan

By: Alisa

Alisa — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:35:30 +0000

I’m sorry, but I do not understand these comments. It seems obvious to me that none of you have ever really spent time in a start-up. I, for one, think that the briefcase stunt was very startup-esque culturally and there’s nothing disrespectful about it. It provided both the reward and the humor to lift Bob’s spirits. No one was making fun of anyone. These comments are baffling…

By: Andrea Favale

Andrea Favale — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:01:57 +0000

I think that reading the story, coldly, without having been there, can create a bit of a strange feeling. But, whoever has worked in a start-up knows that a gesture like that, in that particular context, would have been greatly appreciated but Bob, his wife and all the otehr genuinely committed people around the table.
And I suspect, it bought Steve goodwill worth several times the $15k.
Great story Steve, as usual.

By: DK

DK — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:45:08 +0000

Let me contribute my own ink-blot: Haterz gonna hate!
http://randomfunnypicture.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/haters-gonna-hate-eagle.jpg

By: steveblank

steveblank — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:55:04 +0000

This post seems to have engendered a range of responses from: “incredibly tacky” to “cool.”

As I mentioned in an earlier reply, comments appears to be an ink-blot test of your sensibilities.

The reality on the ground (and over multiple startups) was no one was offended, most were incredibly appreciative all were amused.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:37:26 +0000

Yes, A’Dell, I agree with you. This is incredibly tacky. Money is a very private, and sensitive matter for most people. So, to first humiliate someone in front of his spouse and peers at a company dinner, and then dump 15,000 dollar bills on his lap… is tasteless. Maybe on a reality show, but not in real life.

Steve, you offer many things worthy of imitation, but this is not one of them.

Mark

By: steveblank

steveblank — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:53:52 +0000

1. Bob’s request made me think, that yes, he did do something extraordinary and waiting years for an IPO wasn’t the way to reward it. (His comment about his wife was just amusing.)
2. Never crossed my mind about the “inner circle” but I had spent the last 2-weeks flying around the world with Bob.
3. Perhaps the epilogue wasn’t clear. Read it again, engineers received equivalent bonuses.
4. You missed point 3. The rich got richer… etc. may be your world view, but nothing in the story supports it.

By: steveblank

steveblank — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:20:19 +0000

Yes, I think you need to read the story again.

The wife was crying because she was happy. She thought it was a generous gesture. And it was $5K more than she had her husband ask for. 17 years later we all still laugh about the dinner.

At times stories are ink-blot tests of what’s going on in the life of the reader.

By: Edwin Oh

Edwin Oh — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:39:43 +0000

Whoa! Speechlessly cool….

By: A'Dell

A'Dell — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:06:04 +0000

Am I the only one who sees the briefcase stunt as incredibly tacky and disrespectful? Why would you intentionally mock him (and his wife) in front of the rest of the team?

And, cash is great, but $15,000 in ones? Talk about a beat down to have to take it to the bank and have it counted, not to mention the risk of loss. I’m sure you also have to do some kind of paperwork for large cash deposits.

I just don’t agree with this management strategy – I don’t think making fun of someone’s obvious personal sacrifice, especially in front of their family who is bearing the REAL sacrifice of lower compensation, is ever okay.

As the wife of someone who has been in this lower-pay, no bonus start-up situation, I find your method incredibly offensive and just plain tacky.

By: Mark Essel

Mark Essel — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:33:16 +0000

Your history never ceases to amaze me Steve. Thanks for the reminder that equity is swell, but Cash is King

By: Matthew Mamet

Matthew Mamet — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:24:13 +0000

Steve,
After reading this post, I’m honestly not sure what to think. Here are a few questions I’m left with:

Did Steve give out that bonus because he wanted to, or he felt pressure from Bob’s wife?

Did the likelihood that Steve would change his mind about Bob’s bonus go up because Bob is part of the inner-circle, as opposed to the others at the company who were not?

I agree that engineers perform miracles everyday. Why such a huge discrepancy between the bonus they got *$100) and the one Bob got?

But after reading it just now, I wasn’t left feeling inspired to perform a well-thought out dramatic act. Instead, I got the feeling that the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. I’m guessing there are parts of the story that got lost in the retelling?

Sincerely,
Matthew