Comment by moonpolysoft
17 years ago
Well, if you made 50k a year and there was someone in a comparable position bragging about their 200k/yr how would it make you feel? How would your boss take it? How would you deal with the situation if you were the boss?
Companies make offers in confidence for a reason. I'm sure that Tom's business partners wouldn't appreciate him posting about their revenue anywhere public. The same principle applies here.
Truth will set you free, dude. Lack of information is how companies can pay one $50k and another $200k for the same work.
Really? You're going to try, "The truth will set you free?" That's your response?
moon's complaint is that now, there are some awkward positions to deal with at Powerset/MS. Because we were all a very tight knit startup before being acquired, many of us are friends with our supervisors and bosses. Now, we're suddenly faced with the question, "Why did my friend and boss value me at value X and Tom at value Y?" These are guys and gals we've basically lived with for 2-3 years, working feverishly for the shared goal of a game-changing increment to what constitutes search. Everyone played a part, but sometimes it can be painful learning that people may not have regarded your part as much as you did.
What's more, every Powersetter knows some people in the company got The Shaft in terms of retention, for a variety of political and legal reasons. Some of these people chose to stay, some chose to leave. For those who chose to stay, this rubs salt in a wound that's still sore: their baby grew up and didn't treat them as well as the other parents.
Being acquired is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it's great because you get a payout. On the other hand, the company becomes something else entirely and it's almost never what you had before the acquisition.
I understand why Tom talked about it (and it is an interesting story), but I understand why moon is upset about it as well. Tom was very fortunate that he had something else to walk away to (and this definitely drove up his retention price). For many Powersetters, it was "Microsoft" or "...?" (this is doubly true for the scientists who were literally redefining the field as they went along). I only wish everyone had as difficult-yet-easy choice as Tom did.
'We're suddenly faced with the question, "Why did my friend and boss value me at value X and Tom at value Y?" '
So why did they value you at X and Tom at Y ? If the reasons aren't obvious perhaps your friends were not evaluating people on a rational basis? And if they are (obvious reasons) no real harm done right?
What is the advantage of not facing this question? I would rather know (and learn from it) than not know at all.
"Tom was very fortunate that he had something else to walk away to (and this definitely drove up his retention price)"
I think this is a very interesting take away point - always have something to walk away to.
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Whenever I hear arguments like these one side always sounds like this: "Oh yesyesyes everything is fine! No need to question anything! Oh no! You're questioning things! THAT'S CREATED A HUGE PROBLEM! Everything was perfect before you revealed... erhm... created, yes you created our problem!"
Despite the delayed expression, those tense situations ALREADY EXISTED! If you're not treating your people fairly , or if your people can't handle knowing someone else is valued more than them... guess what? You already have problems! Sure you can hide from the problems, but when they come to light, don't blame it on the truth. The truth could have helped you avoid these problems, if you made sure everyone was honest and understood things (and could handle the truth!) to begin with. That's how "The truth will set you free."
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"Tom was very fortunate that he had something else to walk away to...I only wish everyone had as difficult-yet-easy choice as Tom did."
Don't most people have the same choice, provided that they want it? From reading the account, it didn't sound like Tom had any special advantages other than being willing to take the risk and go for it. HN is packed with ppl who have taken the plunge into the unknown to start something without having any idea how it would turn out. To characterize their difficult decision as being the result of some special advantage that they had seems like an excuse for why some weren't willing to take the same risks.
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It's in the company's best interest to keep salaries and bonuses secret, not in the employees'.