… kind of a random thought – but I think Apple has officially run out of ideas — e.g. I am seeing ads for a “Titanium” iPhone, which comes across (to me at least) as “how do we convince people to pay us $1,000 for a ‘new’ product that is functionally the same as what they already have”
from a “leadership” point of view – what made Steve Jobs “different” than other CEO’s was that he ran “Apple, Inc” for the benefit of “Apple, Inc” NOT for the shareholders of Apple, Inc stock. That might sound like a minor difference but trust me it is radically different than the “Wall Street norm” (where stock price is taken as a direct indicator of “corporate profitability”/health)
This isn’t criticism of (current Apple, Inc CEO) Tim Cook — just pointing out that Mr Cook has run Apple, Inc as “Wall Street” prefers – trying to maximize “shareholder” value which is NOT the same as doing what is best for “Apple, Inc.” Of course when CEO’s are compensated with “stock futures” it automatically makes them biased in favor of “doing what is best for the stock price” — but that becomes a lesson in unintended consequences not necessarily “corporate leadership”
Unintended Consequences
Some self-serving politicians went after “excessive executive salary packages” years ago – I think at the time they created an artificial $1 million cap on executive salaries of publicly traded companies — which had the unintended consequence of corporations starting to offer more “stock options” as executive compensation- and REAL executive compensation skyrocketed —
e.g. when you see headlines about “such and such executive” making hundreds of millions of $ in a year – it is because the stock price of “such and such corporation” increased – in 2023 the Pinterest CEO received $123 million in compensation – $101 million of that was stock options
umm, I’m not criticizing what ANYONE is paid – my point is that doing what is “best” for the stock price is NOT always what is “best” for the company (e.g. “Hey, how about if we change the iPhone case rather then spend money on R&D trying to innovate! – the stock price will get a bump and our stock options will be worth more! Brilliant!” then I imagine the Apple board of directors throwing huge stacks of hundred dollar bills at each other while shouting “money fight!”)
I don’t care what the boss is making …
I’m not worried about the huge difference in pay between “executives” and “normal” employees – remember there is no guarantee that the stock price will increase, so it is possible those stock options will expire and be worthless – if the “executives” are actually “leading” the company then it is probably hard to pay them TOO much – and if they are using the company as their personal piggy bank it is probably hard to FIRE them fast enough …
hey, if I ever had the “option” of getting “stock options” at a growing company I would take it … e.g. a lot of Walmart, Microsoft, Google, and AOL “normal employees” became multimillionaires because they were there at the right time and took the stock options — ’nuff said
well …
This rant started because the Thursday night game isn’t particularly interesting (for me) – I was contemplating exactly what I expect from an “opportunity” – I’m ALWAYS looking to make a contribution, i.e. the company isn’t hiring me just because I “need” a job, they have work that needs doing for which they are looking to compensate someone for — the ideal “employer/employee” relationship is where the employee makes a positive contribution and EVERYONE benefits (company, employee, other stakeholders)
Again, I don’t really care what “ownership” is taking home – I simply want what have been promised – e.g. if I ain’t getting paid then I am either a slave or volunteer. If I believe on the mission MAYBE I’d consider being a volunteer but I won’t be particularly productive when I can’t buy gas for my car to get to work.
When I read Colin Powell’s book (“My American Journey” – 1995) he pointed out that his job as a brand new Second Lieutenant (the lowest officer rank in the U.S. Army) was making sure that the soldiers under his command got paid and fed — so that is probably good advice for ANY “manager” at ANY level (i.e. if you have “direct reports” make sure they are getting paid and aren’t starving – showing that you care is worth something, DOING something about it is what creates that “loyalty” thing) – that doesn’t mean employees are always getting paid “what they want” but certainly getting what the company has promised.
little things like free coffee and fruit/candy are nice – but nothing says “we value your contribution” like good ol’ cash. The opposite is also true – nothing says “run, the people in charge are incompetent!” more than payroll problems
Greed goes both ways
I will point out that I am not “pro union” AND I am not “anti union.” Maybe I would describe myself as “pro productivity” and “pro cooperation.”
“Unions” are “good” when they are communicating with management and trying to help workers/members. “Unions” can be “bad” when they start to exist for the sake of the “UNION” and NOT as a way for workers and management to communicate. i.e. “Union leaders” can be just as “greedy” for status/power/money as “management.”
The automobile unions in the U.S. in the last half of the 20th century become a case study in “poor communication” AND greed. Yes, I am oversimplifying the issue – but when the company is paying people NOT to work then they have certainly lost sight of the path of “corporate wisdom” and are well down the path of “convenience, expedience, and non-competitiveness” (Google “UAW jobs bank” if interested).
Sisyphus
Of course if the “work” that needs to be done is difficult, dangerous, and/or unpleasant it will be harder to find folks looking to do the difficult, dangerous, and/or unpleasant work.
This tends to mean that wages are higher for work that falls into the “difficult, dangerous, and/or unpleasant” category.
Then some jobs fall into the above category – but also have a traditional/intrinsic value that comes from the “purpose” found by folks in the profession.
To be clear I’m thinking of things like “law enforcement”, “fire and safety”, “health care”, and “education” – but any job that gives a person “purpose” fits this category.
In the United States “law enforcement” and “fire/emergency/rescue” services tend to be paid for by local taxes – so compensation for those positions tends to be “what the locality can afford.” Smaller municipalities may have to rely on volunteers for portions of their fire/emergency/rescue staffs — which again drives home the value/importance of “perceived purpose.”
The important thing to avoid is the concept of “pointless effort” — i.e. if the ONLY reason someone is doing a job is for a paycheck, then they will end up hating the job. If they have a “reason” and/or “purpose” then ANY work/job can fit this category.
The ancient Greeks had a myth about a man named Sisyphus who did SOMETHING bad (versions of the story vary). His punishment was to push a boulder up a hill for eternity. The “poetic” part of the punishment was that just before he would reach the top, the boulder would roll back down the hill and he would have to start again.
“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare”
Japanese Proverb
Yes, the myth says a LOT about ancient Greek concepts of labor and productivity, and also has a lesson for modern audiences.
The “management” lesson is simply that YOUR job as a manager (after you’ve made sure your direct reports are paid and fed) is communicating the PURPOSE of the work of the organization.
… my bags are packed …
yeah, so this kind of escalated from a “short post” to “blog post” —
Worth noting is that “real life” had ALWAYS been “boring” to one degree or another. MOST of the time – being “boring” is good for a society.
“Unhappy is the land that breeds no hero!
Bertolt Brecht
No, Andrea….unhappy is the land that needs a hero.”
… but that is another story
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