That’ll be a matter of opinion though. The balance of reward is numerically weighted very heavily in the company’s favour. But it’s got to spread the money out over tens of thousands of employees, who it’s contractually obliged to pay every month (even the unproductive ones) and its shareholders. It also shoulders 100% of the risk (except in the extreme case where the employee is at risk of Unilever going bust and defaulting on its salary and pension promises).
The blue LED story is an interesting one, not least because the inventor was working for a company who didn’t really want him to pursue this, so he started work on it in his spare time. When it worked out he sued them for a share, and won - initially $180M - but the company appealed and in the end he settled out of court for $9M, much of which was consumed by his legal costs.
A real issue can be if a company pays someone a large bonus the first thing they do is quit which, since they’re good enough to have made a real breakthrough, is a real loss to the company.
I didn’t know the Nakamura story - interesting.
It seems that Shanks was the first UK inventor to successfully use the Patents Act 1977 against his employer, and another medical diagnostics case since has been successful:
Watching the crofters start to move the cattle from their winter shed into the field behind our cottage. This is the view I wake up to every morning, taken from the bedroom window.
Videoconf with some GP leads first thing this morning to discuss Primary Care recovery planning post Covid, and leadership scenarios to get there; then some work on a pharma project for a colleague, and now sat in garden enjoying the sunshine thinking about when to go and do a bit of exercise and the best time to walk the hound.
the model isnt changing!! the software is, as the last home brew system (author left to go to Lancaster) is breaking and is now a source of self creating and self destroying data. Yesterday all staff before “d” disappeared and today they are back…
This is likely to see an angry mob outside the door of your office armed with pitchforks and burning torches. Any change to the workload model, no matter how peripheral, is fertile ground for armed revolt/aggro/dissent.
Expect your car to be keyed and a brick through your office window for even thinking about the workload model.
Is this a win? I can remember whimsically discussing how much better things would be if we deleted all the [CENSORED] from the workload model. Then we realised that it would lead to complaints about exclusions and victimisation…
Naughty boy, all courses are closed, you are allowed to walk on them but not with a club and a ball.
You should see the Whatsapp groups from golf clubs!
Every Thursday I’m spending a few hours as an enabler for a friend’s SEN son. He’s actually mid 20s now so well beyond the education system and has been assessed by whoever and is entitled to a certain number of hours support per week. But given the current situation, his usual enablers aren’t really able to get over here and spend time with him so I’ve been doing it. The first couple of weeks we were doing chores/diy for his mum but last week and this, with the good weather, I’ve taken him and their dog out on long country walks which he really seems to enjoy. He’s really into F1, so I have to make sure I have some knowledge of it although nothing on what he knows. But it also gives him a chance to fill in some gaps in what he understands about the world and it’s satisfying to see him joining the dots. It must be very difficult if you can’t read. Anyhow today we did a nice 5 miler including a good stretch alongside the Tamar and the conversation ranged from Stirling Moss, tides and the Beeching cuts.
