Pretty much everything about compensation today focuses on “pay for performance,” although sometimes it seems that the higher one goes in business the less connection between the two. Compensation in media is another arena that makes one wonder; as do celebrities and professional sports.

Even when the person compensated can be said to have done a superlative job, the numbers still boggle the mind.

But, jaded as I am, the projected annual numbers I saw today for Wall Street seem completely out of whack. The most highly compensated folks on the Street aren’t offering brilliant (or not) strategy to the heads of the largest corporations, instead they’re playing the market for their employers with company money.

The worst run business still employs people and produces something; entertainers at least entertain, as do athletes, but the highest earners on the Street spend their days pushing money around. They produce nothing, employee nobody, and on the whole, contribute little to anyone other than themselves.

Obviously, there are many exceptions to this comment, one of the most prominent being Paul Tudor Jones, founder of the Robin Hood Foundation.

Another exception is a client of mine, KG Charles-Harris, who was a very successful M&A guy. He says that one day he realized that he wasn’t satisfied and that he really wanted to build something lasting. So he put his money where his mouth was and invested in, and became CEO, of Emanio, Inc.

Considering this year’s M&A activity I asked KG if he missed it. His response? “Not at all – I like what I do and the team I’m working with. It has been a very painful road to get to where I am. I’m glad that I’m working in a more nurturing environment.”

One more thing. I’m proud to make the first public announcement of the M3 Foundation, an organization dedicated to changing the future of Black boys in this country (Did I mention that KG likes challenge?), and want to thank KG for allowing me to be a small part of it.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 8th, 2006 at 12:50 pm and is filed under Business info, Compensation, Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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