The hottest Compensation Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

The Curious Case of the Pearl Jam Posters

Webworm with David Farrier • 10299 implied HN points • 05 Jan 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Compensation
  1. An artist was asked to make posters for a Pearl Jam tour but was offered an unusual form of payment.
  2. There were mixed reactions from artists who had similar deals with bands like Pearl Jam, with some feeling undervalued.
  3. The case raises questions about fair compensation for artists and the value of their work, sparking a conversation about artist payment standards.

How Netflix Turned Alex Honnold's “Life-or-Death” Climb Into a Calculated Business Bet

Huddle Up • 110 implied HN points • 27 Jan 26
💼 Business Compensation
  1. Alex Honnold free-soloed Taipei 101 in front of thousands and tens of millions more on Netflix, turning an extreme solo climb into a global, televised spectacle.
  2. He was paid roughly $500,000, which after fees and donations left him with far less than top athletes earn for much lower risk, raising ethical questions about compensation and incentives.
  3. Netflix treated the event as a calculated business bet, exploiting a gap between perceived on-screen danger and the climber’s actual assessment of risk to create a favorable risk/reward arbitrage.

Five Mistakes to Avoid as an Advisor

Elena's Growth Scoop • 1257 implied HN points • 28 Apr 23
💼 Business Compensation
  1. Being an advisor can help you gain exposure to various industries and companies.
  2. It's important to be selective with clients and focus on a specific niche to avoid context switching and enhance expertise.
  3. Focusing on a single strategic initiative as an advisor allows for more impactful guidance and value creation.
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Unpacking what it means to be an interim leader.

Elena's Growth Scoop • 766 implied HN points • 22 Dec 23
💼 Business Compensation
  1. Interim roles offer flexibility for both employers and employees in fast-changing industries like tech.
  2. Finding an interim role may not be as straightforward as finding a full-time position, but it can be converted from existing opportunities with a specific focus or through a contract-to-hire approach.
  3. Compensation for interim roles should consider benefits, be a mix of cash and equity, and aim to match or exceed full-time market rates for specialized expertise.

hypercapitalism and the AI talent wars

luttig's learnings • 499 implied HN points • 13 Jul 25
💼 Business Compensation
  1. The competition for AI talent is intense, leading to huge salary offers, which can really shake up the trust between companies and their employees. It makes people wonder if mission or money matters more now.
  2. Big companies have an advantage in attracting top talent, which makes it hard for smaller startups to compete. They need strong missions and enough resources to stand a chance in this new market.
  3. Investors must adapt to this changing landscape, as the old rules of fundraising don’t apply anymore. They need to rethink how they evaluate companies, especially those focused on AI.

💰 Stock-Based Compensation Explained

How They Make Money • 707 implied HN points • 24 Mar 23
💰 Finance Compensation
  1. Stock-Based Compensation (SBC) is a remuneration strategy where companies reward employees with equity interests.
  2. SBC affects investors through ownership dilution, alignment of interests, and impact on company performance.
  3. There are different types of SBC such as stock options, restricted stock units, and performance shares, each with unique characteristics and implications.

Special Delivery

The Radar • 119 implied HN points • 18 Feb 24
💼 Business Compensation
  1. Companies tend to become challenging places to work as they grow bigger, often losing sight of the importance of trust and human connection.
  2. Balancing leadership, management, and administrative duties is crucial for organizational success. Executives must prioritize transparency and authenticity to maintain a positive culture.
  3. Having genuine values and treating employees with respect is more impactful than merely pretending to have values. Transparency and fair treatment are key to retaining a motivated workforce.

Contribute to Supernuclear (we'll pay you!)

Supernuclear • 279 implied HN points • 06 Oct 23
💼 Business Compensation
  1. The Supernuclear newsletter is looking for submissions about coliving experiences, paying up to $250 per submission.
  2. They are specifically interested in case studies about coliving communities, living near friends or family, tips and tricks for shared living, and disaster tales.
  3. Submissions must be original, high quality, and based on direct experiences with coliving or living near friends.

A Kick in the Teeth

The Radar • 59 implied HN points • 29 Mar 24
💼 Business Compensation
  1. Amazon shocked managers with a pay freeze despite record profits and successful quarters, damaging trust and morale.
  2. The pandemic revealed the dedication of Amazon managers, who now feel undervalued due to frozen pay based on share price fluctuations.
  3. Amazon's leadership actions risk eroding trust and confidence, raising questions about their motives, behaviors, and commitment to mutual benefit.

Why Did the Tesla Board Attempt to 'Ratify' Musk's Obscene Options Package Instead of Granting a New One?

lawrence’s Substack • 36 HN points • 13 May 24
💼 Business Compensation
  1. The Tesla board attempted to 'ratify' Musk's 2018 options package instead of granting a new one due to legal challenges and potential losses for the company.
  2. Creating a new stock options grant for Musk would lead to massive expenses for Tesla and put the company in financial jeopardy.
  3. Musk does not want a new package as the prospects for Tesla's stock price growth have diminished, making a new reward less appealing, and also resulting in potential tax issues for him.

Universities need to deal with trainee compensation

Science Forever • 159 implied HN points • 19 May 23
🚌 Education Compensation
  1. Universities are facing challenges regarding the compensation of their trainees, leading to unionization efforts.
  2. Graduate students are advocating for fair compensation as they contribute significantly to research efforts and are considered full-time employees.
  3. The financial strain on universities due to demands for better compensation for graduate students is a significant issue in higher education.

Your guide to sales compensation & PLG

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 631 implied HN points • 26 Jul 23
💼 Business Compensation
  1. Sales compensation design involves understanding company goals, seller profiles, and using compensation to drive desired behaviors.
  2. Components of a sales compensation plan include OTE, base salary, variable comp, quota, quota attainment, and more.
  3. When designing a sales compensation plan for a PLG business, consider business goals, roles needed, best practices, and behaviors to incentivize.

The job market is a market

Wednesday Wisdom • 123 implied HN points • 05 Feb 25
💼 Business Compensation
  1. The job market is just like any other market. Companies offer certain salaries and benefits to attract workers, but this can change based on demand and supply.
  2. When times are good, companies provide great perks to keep talent, but when the market shifts, they can cut back on salaries and benefits.
  3. It's important for job seekers to understand their worth in the market but also to be flexible when conditions change. Being aware that the job landscape can vary will help in making better career choices.

College Athletes Can Now Get Paid by Their Schools...But There’s a Catch

Huddle Up • 46 implied HN points • 17 Jun 25
🎾 Sports Compensation
  1. College athletes can now be paid by their schools, which is a big change in sports. This means they can finally earn money for their hard work.
  2. The new rules come with restrictions like salary caps and other regulations that are causing confusion. These rules are important for how schools and athletes will interact financially.
  3. The recent legal case leading to this change highlights many issues, including fair pay and athlete rights. It shows that there’s still a lot to work out in college sports.

It really is a bad idea

Klement on Investing • 3 implied HN points • 09 Jan 26
💼 Business Compensation
  1. Dating at work, especially between a manager and a subordinate, creates big risks and often ends badly for the people involved.
  2. A subordinate may get a short-term pay bump (about 7%) when they start dating their boss, but after the relationship ends their income typically falls sharply (around 18%), often because they leave or are fired.
  3. Such relationships also hurt coworkers and the company: managers tend to favor partners, other employees feel treated unfairly and leave, and overall turnover rises (about 6%), which is costly for firms.

Compensation for Startups: Implementing and “Defending” Your Compensation System

Lessons • 58 implied HN points • 05 Aug 23
💼 Business Compensation
  1. When implementing a compensation system for startups, focus on simplicity to ensure sustainability.
  2. Establish centralized control to maintain the integrity of the system and avoid potential errors.
  3. Key steps for initial implementation include creating/updating leveling system, designing compensation philosophy, and mapping employees to new levels and bands.

Salaries, Staffing, and School Sizes

SFEDup • 58 implied HN points • 02 Jun 23
🚌 Education Compensation
  1. San Francisco Unified School District employs more certificated staff per thousand students compared to most other districts in the state.
  2. San Francisco has the smallest elementary schools and highest percentage of small schools among Bay Area districts.
  3. San Francisco spends more on teacher compensation than most districts, primarily due to employing more teachers and providing benefits to retired teachers.

Asset management is not a meritocracy

Klement on Investing • 3 implied HN points • 05 Jan 26
💰 Finance Compensation
  1. Asset management is not a meritocracy: even when fund performance and asset gathering are easy to measure, pay and promotions often don’t follow actual results.
  2. Female and minority fund managers deliver similar performance and flows as their peers but earn far less — roughly 27% less for women, 20% less for minorities, and about 44% less for minority women — and their wage growth over time is weaker.
  3. Women and minority managers are more likely to be laid off and less likely to be promoted (for example, women ~1.7% and Asian managers ~2.4% less likely to be promoted), showing persistent unconscious bias and a need for stronger DEI action.

The Price Anderson Suicide Pact

Gordian Knot News • 161 implied HN points • 08 Nov 23
💰 Finance Compensation
  1. In the US, the response to nuclear accidents is governed by the Price Anderson Act and American tort system
  2. The Secondary Financial Protection under Price Anderson can lead to mandatory post-casualty assessments on nuclear plants
  3. INPO, a self-regulation inspection service, influences the safety culture of nuclear plants by focusing on preventing costly accidents

SNT for Dummies

Gordian Knot News • 131 implied HN points • 06 Jan 24
🔬 Science Compensation
  1. SNT model is crucial for understanding radiation harm.
  2. Dose rate through time is important to realistic radiation harm models.
  3. SNT is more accurate and easy to implement than LNT for assessing radiation harm.

Golden Handcuffs[Finance Fridays]

Technology Made Simple • 79 implied HN points • 21 May 22
💰 Finance Compensation
  1. Golden handcuffs are financial incentives designed to keep employees with a company for a specific period by offering benefits like stock options.
  2. Companies use golden handcuffs to retain good talent, align employee incentives with company success, and when cash flow is limited.
  3. Considerations when dealing with golden handcuffs include potential stock value fluctuations, public vs. private company shares, and evaluating companies for true value amidst market hype.

How Unions Can Create Jobs

Satiation Point • 19 implied HN points • 28 Apr 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Compensation
  1. Unions can negotiate for higher salaries and create more jobs for members.
  2. In markets with monopsonistic employers, wages are lower and there is a shortage of labor.
  3. Labor unions can help balance the power dynamics, allowing for better wages and job creation.

Radiation Release Package, 2nd Try

Gordian Knot News • 65 implied HN points • 21 Jan 24
🔬 Science Compensation
  1. Radiation release package documentation has been revised into two pamphlets: instructions for release and radiation damage explanation.
  2. The revised package now includes a cover letter and no longer includes potassium-iodide pills.
  3. Focus is shifting towards creating an installation manual for underwriter certification.

Oxford Nanopore Hits ALL TIME Low!

ASeq Newsletter • 43 implied HN points • 10 Jan 24
💼 Business Compensation
  1. Oxford Nanopore's share price hits all-time low due to high executive compensation.
  2. CEO of Oxford Nanopore received millions in compensation, leading to scrutiny.
  3. Suggestions for Oxford Nanopore include withdrawing certain products and reevaluating business strategies.

Why Must You Pay Sales People Commissions?

Dan’s Substack • 2 HN points • 19 Apr 24
💼 Business Compensation
  1. Salespeople being paid commissions is a common practice, but it can lead to various recurring problems like high turnover and internal disputes.
  2. Research suggests that higher incentives, like commissions, can actually reduce performance in some cases, which is a counter-intuitive result.
  3. The debate over sales commissions reflects two different views of worker motivation: Theory X, where employees are seen as lazy and need external rewards, and Theory Y, where workers are viewed as self-motivated and thrive on autonomy.

Unbundling Cash & Equity

Working Theorys • 19 implied HN points • 06 Sep 23
💼 Business Compensation
  1. Consider unbundling cash and equity to seek them from different opportunities.
  2. There is a tradeoff between cash and equity in compensation offers.
  3. Cash-plus-equity may offer the allure of high equity value, but most startups fail.

✅ Monday briefing: Met comms slammed, employee culture, reputation of PR, pay gaps, hidden salaries, AI strategy, NHS backlash, foodbank fundraiser, and more...

Wadds Inc. newsletter • 19 implied HN points • 04 Oct 21
💼 Business Compensation
  1. Companies need to pay attention to employee culture. Red flags include high turnover rates and excessive working hours, indicating issues within the organization.
  2. Salary transparency is important, but many companies avoid sharing salary information. This practice can contribute to pay gaps and employee dissatisfaction.
  3. There's a growing focus on the role of AI in business strategy. Governments are starting to invest in AI technologies to support economic growth and address skills shortages.

023. Startup equity: The obvious, yet often-bungled way to motivate employees

Safe For Work (SFW) • 7 implied HN points • 13 Mar 24
💼 Business Compensation
  1. Employees often undervalue their equity in startup companies, leading to a lack of motivation and missed opportunities for potential financial gain.
  2. Startup leaders need to openly and honestly discuss equity with employees to help them understand its value and make informed decisions about their compensation.
  3. Engaging with the emotional aspects of equity and providing guidance on how to value it can lead to better employee motivation, productivity, and retention in tech startups.