Debate on global warming is good

So long as we actually try a wide variety of remedies...but just blaming it on the sun sounds a bit too medieval Catholic to me. Click HERE to read the article.

Board Compensation

There exists never a more apt example of the old saying "you get what you pay for" than when it comes to compensating your Board of Directors. Companies, especially startups, need to look outside their own organizations for a fresh and different perspective on just about every aspect of running the firm. The most reliable manner to accomplish this is to be able to turn to a small group of motivated, objective, and (hopefully) smarter set of folks than the company employees.

You can call them an advisory board if the members are unwilling to take on the liability a corporate board position brings; nevertheless you need this group of folks to be motivated.

Since small firms don’t have the resources to compensate their board with cash (retainer, meeting fees, travel, and perks) the very least you can do is match the board’s fortunes with that of the firm by offering stock and/or options in the company. Treat the board stock (option) allocation just like the employee bucket (first right of refusal on repurchase, vesting schedule, etc). but don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ll engage quality people without motivating them. It’s axiomatic that if someone says they don’t need to get paid or compensated in any way, that you’ll get what you pay for.