A plague on startups are teammates who think they're working a job vs. playing on a team. Job = tasks nominally done, tit for tat Team = performance matters, win together, lose together Many people know what their job is. But just as many don't know the game they're playing, what business they are building, how that salary gets funded, where the equity value materializes. Or more generously, they can't put their hands on the tether between what they do and the ultimate outcomes of the company. (Side note: have a lot of these people? Perhaps you over-hired or over-specialized) A disconnect between individuals and the team mission breaks teams, because it breaks incentive alignment. And comp is too blunt of instrument to address: salary, benefits, bonuses, equity: these typically fall into "I get it anyway" short term rewards and "was it really me and will I really get it?" long term rewards. You have to rely on the softer tools of culture, but culture is complicated and slow to adapt. It relies on a motivated and visible few. It's defined by the loudest (good and bad.) It has to be baked into literally everything. FWIW - shared mission does not have to be around financial performance, though it's good to be on a team that wants to win. It can be about craft or speed or good vibes or even shameless ambition (in service of customers!), but 9/10 people in the company have to be aligned to it in a sincere way for it to work out. And its FINE to want to work a job. Queue of tasks in, set of deliverables out. But it's not a great fit for the high risk / high reward (and often, high comp) game of a startup. So beware hiring people for jobs. Instead, build a team 🫶