The Muffin Policy

By Joe Conrad,
Cactus Founder and CEO

The year was 1990 and I was an earnest young account executive at a Denver marketing firm.  It was my first job out of college and I was fortunate to be working directly with one of the principals of the firm.  He had a brilliant marketing mind and he taught me a lot about the business.  I was managing an account that I loved and I really enjoyed the people I worked with at the agency.  Life was good and Denver was still a charming little cow town with a bright future.

But what happened at the agency during a routine Monday morning production meeting would forever change my attitude about the agency and the course of my life.  They announced they were going to do away with the bonus program.  The bonus program was based on the number of  billable hours you posted every quarter above and beyond your weekly goal of 32.  After I earned a bonus for two straight quarters (approximately $1,500 each), the agency had decided to kill the program.  But that's not what bothered me.  It's what they replaced the bonus program with that shocked and infuriated me.  

That morning they announced they would be providing muffins at our Monday morning meetings.  But they weren't going to bring in muffins for everyone.  No, they would bring in four or five muffins to thank and recognize those people who went above and beyond the call of duty that week for the agency.  "Carrie worked all weekend to organize all of the DAF entries.  Thanks Carrie.  Here's a blueberry muffin."  I didn't know whether to laugh because it was such a joke or get mad because it was an outrage.  I settled on the latter.  I couldn't wait to get out of that room and bolt for the street.  Strolling the 16th Street Mall and fuming, I plotted my exit.  Three months later I turned in my resignation and started Cactus with two other partners.

I don't recall the story here to disrespect a great boss or the agency that gave me my start (the agency closed years ago and my mentor is no longer in the business).  I am extremely grateful for all of the experiences I had there, both good and bad.  But rather, it is intended as a reminder to myself and other agency principals to take care of our employees and make sure they feel appreciated and respected.  

When we started Cactus, one of our goals was to try and make all of our employees feel and act like owners of the company.  While we have not always achieved this lofty goal, it is something we are mindful of and strive for.  I've learned that employees want to feel like an essential part of the agency, not just a cog in the machine.  They just want to know how the business is doing, produce great work, be fairly compensated, enjoy coming to work and feel good about the clients the agency represents. 

I believe there are three reasons why anyone should take and keep a job.  First and foremost, you have to get paid. We all have to eat and you should be fairly compensated for what your time is worth and the contributions you make.  Second, you should always be challenged and grow professionally.  If you're not constantly learning and getting better then you are wasting your time.  And finally, you need to feel good about yourself, the work you do and the personal satisfaction you get from your job.  This is what will make you truly happy in work and life.

One of the first things we did when we actually grew big enough to even have a staff was to bring in bagels for everyone during our Monday morning production meetings.  And then during the crash of 2001, we made some budget cuts and the bagels ended up on the chopping block.  After times got better I wanted to bring the bagels back but my CFO at the time warned me not to.  He argued that if we didn't bring them back we would never have to take them away again.  

Sound advice but I didn't take it and brought the bagels back anyway.  When times are good we share in the spoils (be it bagels or bonuses).  And when things get tough, we go without, but we do it together.