Stephan Schmidt
Don't Get Blackmailed - About Pay Rises And Customers
About being blackmailed for pay rises
Don’t let anyone blackmail you. Once you put yourself into a position where you are blackmailed, you will not get out of it.
In the case of customers it goes like this: “Give us the features A, B, and C and we’ll sign the contract”. Or “Give us A, B, and C or we’ll leave”. If you give in, you’ve set a precedent and the basis for your relationship. A, B, and C may be reasonable, like single sign-on, and it makes sense to implement them, so put them on your roadmap. But because they make sense, not because the customer blackmails you. Or it is your first customer and would make a huge impact on your growth. Go for it, but be aware of what you’re doing. Too many startups are not getting out of that modus operandi.
What you need to have is a solid USP, something unique, something that customers want and then they buy from you even without A, B, and C. Everyone is rushing to use ChatGPT even with lots of features missing. And if you throw features at customers and see what sticks, for sure you don’t have a USP. If your sales department needs A, B, and C for the sale, let them go, they aren’t good. Everyone can “sell” free things, in this case, free development time. Everyone can sell at a discount. Good salespeople sell the product from its USP.
In the case of employees it looks like this: “Give me more money or I’ll leave” The employee might be right, there is a real reason for more money as the employee got promoted, has more responsibility, is the lowest paid on the team but the best. Then it’s not blackmailing. But when you’re in a pinch, and the employee wants to exploit that, then it’s time to be careful. If there is no real reason, tell the employee “That saddens me, but I wish you all the best in a new job”. The one thing a blackmailer can do is extort more money. The employee who got the raise based on the blackmail will come back six months later. Then again and again. And then leave.
What you need is a compelling reason for the employee to stay. For your company, the product, and the future of the employee. If they can see themselves in a great future in the company, they will not leave or blackmail you. You being blackmailed means you have no vision for your employees, no people development, no promotions, and no compelling vision or engineering culture.
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