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One of the serendipitous benefits of transparency is that simply by sharing data, performance improves.
‘If you have facts, present them and we’ll use them. But if you have opinions, we’re gonna use mine.’”
To make these kinds of extreme rewards work, you need two capabilities. One is a very clear understanding of what impact is derived from the role in question (which requires a complementary awareness of how much is due to context: Did the market move in a lucky way? How much of this was a result of a team effort or the brand of the company? Is the achievement a short-or long-term win?). Once you can assess impact, you can look at your available budget and decide what the shape of your reward curve ought to be.
But freedom is not absolute, and being part of a team, an organization, means that on some level you’ve agreed to give up some small measure of personal freedom in exchange for the promise of accomplishing more together than you could alone.
Always start with an attitude of “How can I help you be more successful?” Otherwise, defenses go up and learning shuts down.
Larry and Sergey set out to create the kind of place where they’d both want to work.
Work Rules Chapter 1 WORK RULES … FOR BECOMING A FOUNDER Choose to think of yourself as a founder. Now act like one. Chapter 2 WORK RULES … FOR BUILDING A GREAT CULTURE Think of your work as a calling, with a mission that matters. Give people slightly more trust, freedom, and authority than you are comfortable giving them. If you’re not nervous, you haven’t given them enough. Chapter 3
WORK RULES…FOR HIRING (THE SHORT VERSION) Given limited resources, invest your HR dollars first in recruiting. Hire only the best by taking your time, hiring only people who are better than you in some meaningful way, and not letting managers make hiring decisions for their own teams. Chapter 4 WORK RULES … FOR FINDING EXCEPTIONAL CANDIDATES Get the best referrals by being excruciatingly specific in describing what you’re looking for. Make recruiting part of everyone’s job. Don’t be afraid to try crazy things to get the attention of the best people. Chapter 5 WORK RULES … FOR SELECTING NEW
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Put your best people under a microscope. Use surveys and checklists to find the truth and nudge people to improve. Set a personal example by sharing and acting on your own feedback. Chapter 9 WORK RULES … FOR BUILDING A LEARNING INSTITUTION Engage in deliberate practice: Break lessons down into small, digestible pieces with clear feedback and do them again and again. Have your best people teach. Invest only in courses that you can prove change people’s behavior. Chapter 10 WORK RULES … FOR PAYING UNFAIRLY Swallow hard and pay unfairly. Have wide variations in pay that reflect the power law
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Reward thoughtful failure. Chapter 11 WORK RULES … FOR EFFICIENCY, COMMUNITY, AND INNOVATION Make life easier for employees. Find ways to say yes. The bad stuff in life happens rarely … be there for your people when it does. Chapter 12 WORK RULES … FOR NUDGING TOWARD HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HAPPINESS Recognize the difference between what is and what ought to be. Run lots of small experiments. Nudge, don’t shove. Chapter 13 WORK RULES … FOR SCREWING UP Admit your mistake. Be transparent about it.
Take counsel from all directions. Fix whatever broke. Find the moral in the mistake, and teach it. Chapter 14 WORK RULES Give your work meaning. Trust your people. Hire only people who are better than you. Don’t confuse development with managing performance. Focus on the two tails. Be frugal and generous. Pay unfairly. Nudge. Manage the rising expectations. Enjoy! And then go back to No. 1 and start again.
