2 weeks ago
Why it's OK when your best employees leave
Sometimes the best workers decide to leave their jobs to start their own companies.
They do this because they want to own something, not just work for someone else.
Even when a company pays very well, the worker is still building the company's value, not their own.
Companies often tell these workers to 'think like an owner' but do not give them real ownership.
When a worker decides to actually become an owner, the company is surprised and tries to keep them.
The company offers things like bigger bonuses or fancier job titles, but these do not fix the real problem.
The worker wants real ownership, not just more money or a new title.
The article says this is actually a good sign for a company.
It means the company hired smart, ambitious people.
Smart companies stay friends with these former workers and might even work with them again later.
Senior executives are quitting large employers to start their own ventures, often driven by a desire for ownership and equity.
Companies encourage 'high-potential' employees to 'think like an owner' but do not offer actual ownership or equity.
Retention efforts such as deferred bonuses, broader mandates, and chief-level titles fail to address the structural desire for ownership.
The article argues that employees leaving to build their own companies is evidence a firm hired the right people.
Wiser companies treat departing stars as alumni, stay on good terms, and may later acquire their start-ups.
- Who
- Senior executives and 'high-potential' employees at large companies
- What
- Executives are quitting large employers to start their own ventures, driven by a desire for ownership and equity
- Where
- Not explicitly specified
- When
- Recent, as described in a newspaper report a couple of days ago
- Why
- Because employment contracts have a ceiling while ownership does not; employees who 'think like an owner' eventually want to become one
Retention-focused view
Acceptance view
How to handle employee departures
Retention-focused view
Departures are failures to be tracked, regretted, and benchmarked; companies should perfect retention strategies and stay interviews.
Acceptance view
Occasional departures of ambitious people are healthy and evidence of good hiring; companies should treat stars as future alumni rather than lifetime property.
Key facts
- Main theme
- Employee retention vs. desire for ownership
- Key driver
- Arithmetic: salary is rent, the asset belongs to the employer
- Corporate response
- Retention strategies, stay interviews, deferred bonuses, chief-level titles
- Core problem
- Structural, not emotional: employment contracts have a ceiling, ownership does not
- Wiser company approach
- Treat departing stars as alumni, stay on warm terms, invest in spin-offs, hire their start-ups as vendors
- Key insight
- People leaving to start companies is evidence of hiring the right people
Quotes
Corporate culture narrative
General corporate practice encouraging employee ownership mindset
“"Think like an owner"”
financialexpress.com
“"Stay interview"”
financialexpress.com
Sources
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