$189,000 Per Hour Pay

I just read today that the new CEO of Apple Inc has a starting pay of $378 million per year. That is $189,000 per hour. He probably does not get any overtime pay. Imagine what it costs the company for him to go to the men's room or to take a coffee break! If he was walking down the street in the Fall and the leaves were hundred dollar bills Apple could not afford for him to stop and pick them up. He would have to keep walking.

There are two things at play here. Ability relative to anyone else is not it. Knowledge is not it.

1. Apple has enough revenue that this pay as a percentage of revenue does not make much difference. On a per share basis the stockholders do not even see it. If what you are selling is a fixed cost item to your customer it can often be sold at a higher price. If you are selling packaging material you will be beat down unmercifully on price. If you are selling business cards or advertising material, made with the same type of equipment as the packaging material, you can get a much higher price. Remember this when you are the buyer.

2. This man's real ability is that he can make a deal like this. That ability may or may not translate into growth. He of course did not build Apple. He happened to come along at the right time. When we leave a job where we have built the business we see someone "enter into our labor" and maybe start at a higher salary than we were getting. This is why we should be the owner of the business and not an employee.

David Sneed

Who is a Candidate for a Cowboy Safety Program?

There are several things we know about a candidate for a Cowboy Safety program. It will be a business that either is or desires to be one or more of the following:

1. Owner operated.

2. Financially Independent. These businesses want to generate cash from internal resources to limit their dependence on loans and other credit. They want to be debt free as quickly as possible.

3. Family-based. At one time all business had family at the core. In many countries this is still true. It has almost become a truism that children now go on their own, get a job, and sell their time wholesale rather than keeping the production in the family. A creative family business can offer much better opportunity than going elsewhere for employment.

4. Diversified in concept even if not in products and services. They can view their business from the stand point of the problems they solve rather than the products and services they sell. They can adapt to new things as conditions change.

5. User of technology.

6. Faith-based. This is not for everyone but Cowboy Safety programs can include a spiritual dimension. LeTourneau Technologies, the manufacturer of large earth moving equipment, was completely faith-based as long as R G Letourneau was involved. There are many other examples.

David Sneed