It's a small world & committing to write

I’ve spent the last ten years being a consultant to a very narrow audience of people: Boards of Directors. They are a small group of people making very large decisions across our society. The Russell 3000 has something like 25,000 to 35,000 people who sit on Boards of US public companies, and in the S&P 500, it’s more like 4,000 to 6,000. A tiny world!

My area of expertise is even tinier: compensation. I advise Boards on pay strategy, pay philosophy, incentive design, investor outreach, governance issues around pay, and of course, executive compensation. Pay is a big deal - it’s why people work in the first place. And there is an entire ecosystem surrounding the world of compensation which plays by its own rules, norms, practices, and conventions. About a third of those 25,000 to 35,000 directors sit on Compensation Committees and make decisions about how people get paid throughout our entire economy. That’s an even smaller group and even fewer people really know how it’s all working.

There is an entire profession centered around designing your pay - the reason you are there - and a small group of people sitting on Boards who are designing it. Not many people know or understand how it works. Compensation ‘theory’ isn’t required in business school and many leaders don’t get exposed to it until they are either sitting on Boards or in the CEO or CHRO job. I think compensation can feel mystifying and intimidating for many leaders to talk about but it doesn’t need to.

For me, it’s been a fun field to build my career because it sits at the cross-section of many different disciplines - finance, strategy, HR, legal, shareholder outreach - but it’s enveloped in a sometimes very emotional coating that makes it hard to talk about. Most of the time I’m learning more about psychology than anything else. Even the brightest, most capable, and principled business leaders can struggle when discussing compensation. Ego and insecurity come into play, which can lead to breakdowns in communication. Observing these dynamics from my perspective as a consultant has taught me a great deal about people, negotiation, leadership, and how individuals respond to different types of stress. I think the field gets a lot of things right but a lot of things wrong too. I am eager to write about it and demystify the topic. I genuinely love talking about incentives, motivation, and how pay fits into that, and want to make it more approachable.

On a personal note, I’m a mom. My daughter is 15 months old and is the ultimate super baby. My husband and I adore her and are having the time of our lives. I love reading and learning, although I rarely find the time to sit down and enjoy a full book these days. I also play the guitar to help me feel more grounded. I have lived in Los Angeles for ten years, but I grew up in New Jersey and plan to move back there in the future to be closer to family. I have an incredibly lovable but high-energy dog.

I might write about personal experiences here too, we’ll see. I am committing to writing once a week. Gulp. I’ve said it out loud to my zero followers, and now I have to follow through!