this post was submitted on 13 Dec 2023

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Panera founder says employees today aren't motivated by the idea of making money for shareholders: 'Nobody cares' (www.businessinsider.in)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

30 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Panera's founder says "therapists belong in the C-Suite" and can help CEOs understand workers' motivations.

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[–] [email protected] 69 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Actually a fairly enlightened take if you read beyond the headlines.

"No employee ever wakes up and says, 'I'm so excited. I made another penny a share today for Panera's shareholders,'" Shaich told Business Insider in an interview. "Nobody cares. You don't care whether your CEO comes or goes."

He goes on to talk about how therapy helped him better empathize with himself, customers, and employees.

The 'today' in the headline I think is the click bait and something the author is indirectly putting in this guy's mouth.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Unless he actually then improved his workers conditions (at the very bare minimum, which he hasn't, instead it looks like they're cutting staff to boost "productivity" in preparation for going public because, you guessed it - that'll make more money for the shareholders), that statement is entirely hollow, and is there for no other reason than to make him feel better.

Fuck the CEO getting "enlightened" from all the therapy he can afford if all he does with it is state what's already obvious to those who can barely afford rent, let alone therapy.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If they’re not public already they don’t have shareholders as that term is typically used. They may have investors who are forcing them to go public because they don’t want a simple loan payback, they want the bonanza of an ipo.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

As the old saying goes, "There's only one winner in an IPO. His name is George. He makes bank on each one. Everyone else leaves the situation worse off, either immediately, or later, unless George tips them off when to sell."

[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago

yeah that makes a difference. he was not saying it like nowadays but that its never been the case.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'm having a hard time imagining that creating shareholder value was ever a motivation for those working on the floor.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The guy quoted actually said ever. Today I think was click bait on the part of the author.

And I went in expecting to find another asshole CEO tbh

[–] [email protected] -1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You did find that, you've just been convinced otherwise by his own bullshit spin..

[–] [email protected] -1 points 10 months ago

You're not wrong but it is encouraging to read a sensible take from someone like him once in a while. It gives people hope to keep fighting.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 10 months ago (1 children)

At least one founder and former CEO agrees that the idea of boosting shareholders' returns isn't likely to be a key motivator to workers these days. Ron Shaich, Panera Bread's founder and former longtime CEO, has stressed how important it is for management and members of the C-suite to empathize with their employees and better understand what can get their buy-in to the company's mission.

"No employee ever wakes up and says, 'I'm so excited. I made another penny a share today for Panera's shareholders,'" Shaich told Business Insider in an interview. "Nobody cares. You don't care whether your CEO comes or goes."

What a click bait bullshit title. The person never said what they are implying they said.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

To be fair, there isn't really anything in the title to imply that. It's just what people are primed to infer.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Nah, that title knows what the fuck it's implying and it's doing it for the clicks.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

They might know people will infer that. But that's still not in the text itself. And insisting it is requires mind reading.

One should always keep Hanlon's Razor in mind.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 10 months ago

He makes some good points and some bad ones. But I bet we'd all be happier if we worked for employee-owned businesses with no shareholders or executives at all.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Yeah no fucking shit. Even the big-picture, meta sort of "a successful business rewards its employees" doesn't hold water these days because everyone in entry-level jobs will tell you that things get worse and more complicated the bigger the company gets.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Fuck the shareholders I’m here to not starve not enrich them

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Rage bait headline does its job I guess.

He wasn't saying that in a way that's negative towards workers but towards CEOs. He's right, no one cares about enriching the fat cats.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

I’m not speaking in response to the article but to those the article is talking about, you know, the ones who do whatever it takes to get those record quarterly profits

[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Did anyone here read the article?

He's not saying "those lazy peasants should know their only purpose is to make me richer and be happy about it", he's saying "obviously nobody will be motivated by making some rich jerks richer while getting paid peanuts".

Unfortunately in the second half he goes into out of touch CEO mode, but the quote on the ragebait title is actually very reasonable

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Yeah I read the headline and thought this had to be an onion article, glad it's a little more positive ig

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago

As someone with a master of I/O psychology degree, there are some organizations that hire individuals with a psych background to assist in creating a healthy, psychologically safe, workplace environment.

That said, in talking with others in the field the "make our employees mentally healthy," quickly devolves into "use your psycho head games to make our employees do what we want."

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Maybe give people stock options. I’m going to make over 100k a year for the next three years just in stock options because of shareholder value.

ETA: Panera isn’t a public company anymore. It was bought a few years ago by a crappy company. So there is no reason for employees to go the extra mile.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That also may give them votes. They basically become their own bosses. Has helped a lot of companies.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

I’m a huge fan of stock options or stock. Everyone should get some skin in the game.

As much as people want to whine. We are all shareholders if you have a pension or 401k.

Why I’m a fan of the old ceo of Costco. Not only did he create growth in the stock. He treated the employees well. He felt the two went hand in hand. He looked at long term goals and not short term market shifts.

We have to many executives look at short term goals.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

It's kinda crazy that this is such a business-world revelation. Wow. Deep thoughts, my guy.

C-suiters really need therapists to explain working class life to them so they can learn the capacity to empathize.

Sorry, neo-feudalist-gilded-age-run-by-socipaths-says-what?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Therapists. hire teachers.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Is this a joke?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

It's clickbait