Leading with Purpose Over Paychecks

It's not always about the paycheck but leading with purpose and vision. What are your thoughts on this approach?

You might think the CEO of a successful company is rolling in cash with a sky-high salary, right? Well, not always! In fact, some of the best CEOs in the game take home just $1. Yup, you read that right—ONE dollar.?

Marc Benioff of Salesforce, Dustin Moskovitz from Asana, and even Patrick Shiong of Nant Health have all chosen to go super lean on their salaries. Why? Because they were already doing well financially, and it sets an incredible tone for their companies. It's like saying, "Hey, I'm here to build, not just collect a paycheck."

Now, let’s talk numbers. The median salary for a CEO at a SaaS company about to go public? $339k. Sounds pretty decent, right? But remember, these companies are already killing it, yet their CEOs are still not going wild with their paychecks. It’s all about keeping things in perspective—especially when your company’s still growing.?

But wait, there’s more to the story. Besides the salary, CEOs often get bonuses and stock options. For example, the median bonus was $167k, and options worth $132k were pretty standard. And if you’re driving serious growth, like Drew Houston at Dropbox or Ryan Smith at Qualtrics, you might even snag options worth over $100 million!?

So, the next time you think about CEO pay, remember it’s not just about the salary—it’s about the bigger picture, the growth, the value, and setting the right tone for the team.

What do you think? Would you take a $1 salary to lead your company??