Some Holiday / VC Humor (courtesy of Blueprint Ventures)

Creating Loyal Employees (Entrepreneur.com)

"But why are loyal employees so important--even critical--to the success of your business? Loyal staffers help create a history and a culture of stability; people who've been around awhile know the road, the rules and the “how it’s done around here.” Loyalty reduces costly turnover rates by eliminating the time needed to advertise for new hires, then interview, screen and train them, and wait till they get up to speed. Loyal employees are usually also satisfied, productive employees."

These points below are spot on!

- The important thing to remember is that it's all about you - how you behave, how you treat your employees, how you perform as a manager.

- You've got to prove you have what it takes to get the job done - you've got to be competent, or you'll get no respect.

- You've got to demonstrate integrity in your actions and beliefs.

- Behave consistently with your staff.

- You need to display a willingness to protect your employees and help them save face.

- It's important that you be as open with your employees as possible.

20 Low-Cost Employee Perks (Entrepreneur.com)

Grooming Next-Generation Leaders (HBS Working Knowledge)

"There are some that can see it in themselves; there are some that need to be informed," says Narayandas. "Talent needs to be nurtured: Many times it takes someone else who can recognize that an individual can think beyond their job, can think bigger, and has the potential to make a bigger impact.

After your organization trains and mentors leaders, how can it retain them? Talented employees thirst for challenging assignments, and they need to be listened to, says Sasser. "If you invest in these people, you must give them significant work.

"People like to follow people who have vision. People like to follow leaders who can explain why we're doing something. And people like to follow people who have said, 'You know what, it's not going to be an easy journey; we're going to have a lot of adversity, but here's why I think we can get it done.'

Capital battle between the coasts (The Mercury News)

Pay Daze - Linking pay to performance is harder than it looks. (CFO.com)

"Nearly every public company issued options five years ago, according to The Corporate Library, an independent research firm that analyzes corporate-governance trends. Today, it says, only two-thirds do. "

"Companies are relying more on performance-linked equity, in combination with other forms of pay. "

"The attractiveness of internally based awards — in which the compensation expense can be reversed if the performance methods are not achieved — leads some companies to give them a close look ..."

"Still, internal measures have their advantages. A manager's influence over something as complex as the stock price is quite limited. And arguably, CEOs and other top executives have more control over EBITDA."

"Excessively fine-tuning the overall compensation plan, however, risks making executive pay too complicated to serve as a good motivator. For all their flaws, pay packages based on ordinary options are at least easy to understand."

Rich or Royal: What Do Founders Want? (HBS Working Knowledge)

Q&A with Professor Noam Wasserman.

Noam's Blog, including links to his research and papers.

A summary of topics covered on this blog as of 11/29 includes some great themes ...

• Rich vs. King: The Entrepreneur's Dilemma
• Co-founder Issues
• Founder-CEO Succession
• Entrepreneurial Compensation
• Equity Issues
• Building a Board
• Investor Issues

The Money Connection—Understanding VC Networks (HBS Working Knowledge)