Bet on Yourself
How comfortable are you with the idea of relinquishing control over something important to you to someone who doesn’t really wish you well? How about relinquishing control over your career? Over your family’s livelihood?
Whenever alignment of interests isn’t present at the workplace, that’s exactly what employees are doing – they’re relinquishing control to the manager who has completely different incentives. If you’re working in a big company, your career success – your next years’ bonus, your promotion – are in the hands of someone who has no rational reason to wish you well.
Don’t give me the empathy argument. Don’t tell me that your manager wants to help you because it will make him/her feel good inside.
Incentives rule the world. People optimize for the way they are rewarded. The manager will optimize for what will make them get their next promotion. When it costs them nothing, they might even invest in you – if they’re what we consider a “good manager.” But do not kid yourself – there’s no incentive for them to systematically make you better off. You’re just a cog in the machine. A stepping stone.
… How comfortable are you with the idea of gambling? Of betting something valuable to you on a phenomenon with relatively unpredictable outcome?
I’m not much of a gambler; the idea of having zero control over the spinning wheel of the roulette gives me a heartache. Someone else throwing the ball… Someone else programmed the roulette… Just standing there with my fingers crossed makes me feel powerless. A victim of the odds. A fool that disrespects the probability theory.
But what if you could change the game? What if you could be the one throwing the ball, programming the roulette, training for hours on how to beat the odds? What if after months of training, you were presented with a chance to make a bet – on yourself, on your own skill – and be the one playing your own game, with so much under your control?
That’s what startups are about.
You’re gambling – yes. You’re playing against the odds – most startups fail. But you’re betting on yourself – your own skill, your training, your intellectual horsepower. You’re creating a new world – every day. Your hunger inspires you to do more than humanly possible. You’re riding a roller-coaster – but it’s your own path.
Moreover, people around you – your manager, your peers – are all in exactly the same boat. If you don’t pull your weight, you will hear about it; others will jump in to make you better. If you’re doing well, your leaders have a purely logical incentive to get you the recognition you deserve – because it will make THEM succeed. Because it improves the odds of the startup succeeding. Because you personally are contributing a big, noticeable chunk to the bottom line of the value of the startup.
The most important factor here, of course, is the ability of every employee to make a meaningful difference on the company’s bottom line and having a share of the gains. This is what changes the incentives for everyone.
The wise Glenn Kelman says that “startups are the most intense way to live.” I couldn’t agree more. The thrill of a bet on myself – combined with the responsibility that it brings – is making me feel alive more than ever.