Dan Price， the CEO Who Pays Every Employee $70，000 a Year 丹·普賴斯：美國好老板

Paul+Keegan++譯+宋怡秋

有誰會相信，一位公司的老板會將自己的年薪由110萬砍至7萬美元，而他這樣做的目的只是為了把公司所有員工的最低年薪提高至7萬美元？這聽起來有些匪夷所思，但是美國Gravity Payments公司的老板丹·普賴斯就是這樣做的。這位美國好老板采取的這一違背市場規律的舉措無論對于他自己還是公司都是一步險棋。然而丹·普賴斯卻甘冒風險，既為了讓員工過得更幸福，也在嘗試改變美國公司的經營方式。在他的心中，企業領導者的成績不是由金錢決定的，而是由目標、影響和服務來書寫。

Before Dan Price caused a media firestorm by establishing a $70，000 minimum wage at his Seattle company， Gravity Payments， an entry-level Gravity employee named Jason Haley got really pissed off at him.

It was late 2011. Haley was a 32-year-old phone tech earning about $35，000 a year， and he was in a sour mood. Price had noticed it， and when he spotted Haley outside on a smoking break， he approached. “Seems like somethings bothering you，” he said. “Whats on your mind？”

“Youre ripping me off1），” Haley told him.

Price was taken aback2）. Haley is shy， not prone to outbursts. “Your pay is based on market rates，” Price said. “If you have different data， please let me know. I have no intention of ripping you off.” The data doesnt matter， Haley responded： “I know your intentions are bad. You brag about how financially disciplined you are， but that just translates into me not making enough money to lead a decent life.”

Price walked away， shocked and hurt. An entrepreneur since he was a teen， Price prided himself on treating employees well at Gravity， which he co-founded in 2004 with his brother Lucas Price. Three years before， as a 16-year-old high school kid， Dan Price saw bar owners being gouged3） by big financial firms every time they swiped4） a patrons credit card. By first outsourcing technology， and then building its own systems， Gravity offered lower prices and better service， and grew rapidly for four years—until the Great Recession nearly wiped it out. Traumatized5）， Price kept a lid on6） wages even after the economy recovered—to save the company， of course！ Why cant employees see that？

Finally， he realized why： Haley was right—not only about being underpaid， but also about Prices intentions. “I was so scarred by the recession that I was proactively7）， and proudly， hurting my staff，” he says. Thus began Prices transformation from classic entrepreneur to crusader against income inequality， set8） on fundamentally changing the way America does business. For three years after his face-off9） with Haley， Price handed out 20 percent annual raises. Profit growth continued to substantially outpace wage growth. This spring， he spent two weeks running the numbers and battling insomnia before making a dramatic announcement to his 120-member staff on April 13： Over the next three years， he will phase in10） a minimum wage of $70，000 at Gravity and immediately cut his own salary from $1.1 million to $70，000 to help fund it.

The reaction was tsunamic， with 500 million interactions on social media and NBCs video becoming the most shared in network history. Price had not only struck a nerve11）； he had also turbocharged12） a debate now raging across the American landscape， from presidential forums to barrooms to fast-food restaurants. How much—indeed， how little—should workers be paid？ While financiers and C-suite13） honchos14） have showered themselves in compensation， most Americans havent had a raise， in real dollars， since 2000. Especially in the wake of15） the recession， entrepreneurs and corporate bosses have tightly controlled costs， including wages. That boosts profits. But at what cost？ In a U.S. economy that is more than two-thirds consumer spending， GDP growth is chained to income growth. Workers cant spend what they dont have， nor do they have the home equity16） to borrow and spend. Weak wage growth helps explain why this long economic expansion has been so tepid17）.

Until Price dropped his wage bomb， much of that debate was punditry18）. He gave it a name and a face： a modern Robin Hood helping the working class by stealing from himself.

Price isnt backing down19） about pay going up. Now hes going all in. He revealed to Inc. that he has sold all his stocks， emptied his retirement accounts， and mortgaged his two properties and poured the $3 million he raised into Gravity. As majority owner， he is not exactly penniless. But if Gravity fails， so does Price. “Most people live paycheck to paycheck20），” he says. “So how come I need 10 years of living expenses set aside and you dont？ That doesnt make any sense. Having to depend on modest pay is not a bad thing. It will help me stay focused.”

“I love Monday mornings，” says Price， upbeat as usual， walking through Gravitys sparse21） office in the Ballard section of Seattle. The office looks as you might expect—desks and computers in bland22） cubicles. “So we dont get too comfortable，” Price says.

Being comfortable wasnt a goal in Prices family when he was growing up in rural southwest Idaho， near Nampa. He and his five siblings took turns waking at 5 a.m. to make breakfast before Bible readings and prayers led by their Evangelical Christian parents. Like his siblings， he was homeschooled until age 12. Thats when he rebelled a bit， dying his hair with red and blue streaks and painting his nails like the punk rockers he listened to.

Price learned to play bass guitar and formed a Christian rock trio called Straightforword， which was successful enough to tour and get national airplay. At 16， when the band broke up， he decided to help the struggling owners of bars and coffee shops where they had played by negotiating cheaper rates from the credit card processing companies， which offered little more than exorbitant23） prices and spotty service.

Though his family struggled financially， Price never thought of his enterprise as a way to make money. Inspired by his father， Ron Price， a self-employed consultant who often spoke of living according to your values， Dan says he just wanted to help friends like Heather， who ran the Moxie Java coffee shop in Caldwell， Idaho. But make money he did， rounding up more than 200 clients and in a good month netting $12，000. By the time he entered Christian Seattle Pacific University in 2004， Price had developed a more sophisticated business model： processing credit card transactions himself using outsourced technology. While continuing to serve his Idaho customers， he found enough new ones in Seattle to start Gravity Payments.

Funded in part by Dans savings， credit card debt， and student loans， the company grew rapidly as Gravity built its own technology and brought the card-processing systems in-house24）. He somehow graduated from college in 2008， won several business awards， and met President Obama. Then the recession hit and Gravity fell rapidly to earth. Revenue dropped 20 percent， and vendors and clients went bankrupt. Always stingy25） with pay， he had offered employees the usual startup promise： Well give you an exciting place to work， and youll learn so much youll eventually be financially successful. But after his encounter with Jason Haley， he decided to try a new tack.

The 20 percent raises Price implemented in 2012 were supposed to be a one-time deal. Then something strange happened： Profits rose just as much as the previous year， fueled by a surprising productivity jump—of 30 to 40 percent. He figured it was a fluke26）， but he piled on 20 percent raises again the following year. Again， profits rose by a like amount. Baffled， he did the same in 2014 and profits continued to rise.

“But I was still bothered and I didnt know why，” he says. In March， Price went walking with a good friend who earned less than $50，000 at another firm. She was smart， capable， and worked 50 to 60 hours a week. But her Seattle rent was rising another $200 a month， and she was struggling with student debt and worried about how to pay for basics. “I was so angry，” Price says. “I began wondering what my friend would have to make so she wouldnt have to worry about a $200 rent hike.” He recalled a 2010 study by Princeton behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman27） finding that， while people did not feel happier on a daily basis as their income rose above $75，000， they were decidedly unhappier the less they earned below $75，000. At Gravity， new hires made $35，000 a year. “I just decided Im gonna do $70，000，” he says. “I dont care if I have to stop paying myself or I have to work 20 hours a day. Im going to do it.” The plan will eventually double the salaries of 30 workers and give raises to 40 more making less than $70，000.

Is there a magic number that keeps workers focused while still generating a profit？ Price calculated a figure but never imagined the publicity hes gotten would boost new customer inquiries from 30 per month to 2，000 within two weeks. Customer acquisition costs are typically high， so in that sense， the strategy has paid off.

Price says establishing a $70，000 minimum wage is a moral imperative， not a business strategy. And yet he must prove the business wisdom behind it， not only to keep Gravity from sinking—and going down with the ship himself—but also to achieve his long-term goal of transforming the business world. “I want the scorecard28） we have as business leaders to be not about money， but about purpose， impact， and service，” he says. “I want those to be the things that we judge ourselves on.”

西雅圖支付公司Gravity Payments的丹·普賴斯在自己的公司里實行7萬美元最低工資一事在媒體上引起了軒然大波。而在此之前，Gravity公司里的初級員工賈森·黑利曾對他非常不滿。

事情發生在2011年底。32歲的黑利是一個年薪3.5萬美元的電話技術人員，他當時的情緒很焦躁，普賴斯注意到了這一點，在一次吸煙休息時他看見了黑利，就走上前去?！澳闼坪跤行┛鄲溃彼f，“有什么心事嗎？”

“你在剝削我?！焙诶卮鸬?。

普賴斯大吃一驚。黑利是個害羞的人，不會輕易發脾氣。“你的工資是根據市場行情定的，”普賴斯說，“如果你有不一樣的數據，請你告訴我。我無意要剝削你?！钡诶卮鹫f，數據并不重要，“我知道你存心不良，你吹噓說自己在財務方面多么有節制，但結果只是讓我掙不到足夠的錢過體面的生活”。

普賴斯聽完走開了，心里既震驚又受傷。從十幾歲就開始創業當老板的普賴斯一向以善待Gravity的員工而自豪，該公司由他與兄弟盧卡斯·普賴斯于2004年共同創立。在創立公司的三年前，丹·普賴斯還是個16歲的高中生。當時他看到，在酒吧里，經營者每次刷顧客的信用卡收款都會受到大金融公司的壓榨。而Gravity公司則提供更低的價格和更優質的服務，他們最初將技術外包，后來建立了自己的處理系統，在四年時間里飛速發展—直到經濟大衰退將它幾乎徹底摧毀。受到重創的普賴斯即使在經濟復蘇之后仍繼續限制員工的工資額度—這當然是為了公司的生存著想！員工們為什么就是不明白呢？

最后，他意識到了原因：黑利是對的—不僅在工資過低這一點上說對了，對于普賴斯的意圖他也說對了。“經濟衰退令我深受創傷，于是我先發制人，傷害了我的員工，還引以為豪。”他說。自此，普賴斯開始從一名傳統的企業家向一名反對收入不平等的斗士轉型，決心從根本上改變美國公司的經營方式。在與黑利的那次對峙后，普賴斯連續三年每年給員工加薪20%。而公司利潤的增長速度則持續地大幅超過工資的增長速度。今年春天（編注：英文原文發表于2015年11月），在他花了兩周時間計算數據并與失眠作斗爭后，在4月13日，他向公司的120名員工宣布了一個驚人的決定：在今后的三年里，他將在Gravity公司逐步推行7萬美元的最低工資，并即刻將自己的年薪從110萬削減到7萬，以此為這一計劃提供資金支持。

一石激起千層浪，他的做法在社交媒體上引發了五億次互動，NBC對此事的報道則成為電視網歷史上分享次數最多的視頻。普賴斯不僅觸及了很多人的痛處，更使一場全國性的大討論愈演愈烈，從總統論壇到酒吧和快餐店，人們到處都在談論這個話題。勞動者應該獲得多高的—或者說多低的—報酬才是合理的？那些金融家和C字打頭的企業高管們大把大把地拿高額薪酬，而大多數美國人若按實際購買力計算，自2000年后就沒有漲過工資。特別是在經濟衰退之后，企業家和公司老板都嚴格控制包括工資在內的成本支出，這促進了企業利潤的增長。但代價是什么呢？在美國經濟中，消費占比超過三分之二，GDP的增長與國民收入的增長密切相關。沒有錢，勞動者就無法消費；他們也無法通過房屋凈值來貸款與消費。工資增長乏力有助于解釋為什么這么久以來經濟發展一直如此疲軟。

在普賴斯投下這顆工資炸彈之前，對這一問題的討論大多是專家們的紙上談兵。他則給出了一個活生生的例子：一個從自己口袋里掏錢來幫助工薪階層的現代羅賓漢。

在給員工加薪這件事上，普賴斯不會退縮。目前他已為此投入了一切。他向Inc.雜志透露，他已經賣掉了所有的股票，提空了退休金賬戶，抵押了兩處房產，并將籌措到的300萬美元注入了Gravity。作為公司的最大股東，準確地說，他并不是一無所有。但是如果Gravity倒閉了，普賴斯也就破產了?！按蠖鄶等硕际窃鹿庾?，”他說，“為什么我就需要預留出十年的生活費，而你們不需要呢？這毫無道理。只能依靠不多的薪水生活并不是件壞事。它能促使我專心工作?！?

“我喜歡星期一上午?！弊咴谖挥谖餮艌D巴拉德街區的Gravity公司那略顯空蕩的辦公室里，普賴斯和平常一樣充滿朝氣。辦公室看起來跟大家預想的差不多—一個個普通無奇的辦公隔間里放著辦公桌和電腦?！斑@樣我們就不會過于安逸。”普賴斯說。

追求安逸可不是普賴斯一家的人生目標。普賴斯在愛達荷州西南部楠帕附近的農村長大。他和五個兄弟姐妹輪流在早上五點鐘起床做早飯，然后在福音派基督徒父母的帶領下讀《圣經》和做晨禱。和兄弟姐妹們一樣，他在12歲之前都是在家接受教育。那時的他有點叛逆，像他常聽的朋克搖滾歌手那樣把頭發挑染成紅色和藍色，還染指甲。

普賴斯學會了彈貝斯，并組建了一支名叫Straightforword的三人福音搖滾樂隊。這支樂隊頗為成功，他們曾經巡回演出，歌曲在全國性電臺上播出過。16歲那年，樂隊解散后，他決定幫助曾經駐唱過的那些硬撐著度日的酒吧和咖啡館經營者，跟信用卡業務受理公司進行談判，讓其降低收費標準，這些公司收費過高，服務卻時好時壞。

雖然自己家里財務拮據，但普賴斯從來沒有把開公司當做生財之道。丹的父親朗·普賴斯是位個體咨詢顧問，他常說人要遵循自己的價值觀生活。在父親的感召下，丹說他創業的初衷只是想幫助朋友，比如在愛達荷州考德威爾開Moxie Java咖啡館的海瑟。但他確實賺了錢，發展了200多名客戶，生意好的時候一個月能凈賺1.2萬美元。到2004年入讀西雅圖太平洋大學這所基督教大學時，普賴斯已經建立起了更為成熟的經營模式：利用外包技術自己處理信用卡交易。在繼續為愛達荷州的客戶服務的同時，他在西雅圖也發展了不少新客戶，足以支撐他開辦起Gravity公司。

Gravity公司使用了丹的存款、信用卡借款和學生貸款作為部分啟動資金，在建立了自己的技術并將信用卡處理系統收歸自營后，公司得以迅速發展。2008年，丹總算大學畢業了，贏得了幾個商業獎項，并受到奧巴馬總統的接見。隨后，經濟衰退來襲，Gravity公司迅速跌入谷底。公司收入下降了20%，銷售商和客戶紛紛破產。在工資方面一向吝嗇的普賴斯對員工們做出的是在創業公司里常見的那類承諾：我們給你提供一份令人興奮的工作，你能學到很多東西，并最終在財務方面獲得成功。但在與賈森·黑利交鋒后，他決定嘗試一種新的策略。

2012年那次幅度為20%的加薪原本計劃只是一錘子買賣?？墒瞧婀值氖聝喊l生了：公司工作效率出人意料地大幅躍升了30%～40%，受此推動，公司的利潤增長與上一年持平。普賴斯認為事出偶然，但第二年，他在上次的基礎上又給員工加薪20%。公司利潤的增長再次與上一年相當。困惑不已的普賴斯在2014年再度為員工加薪，而公司的利潤繼續增長。

“但我還是感到很困擾，不明白這是為什么。”他說。3月，普賴斯跟一個好友一起外出散步，她在另一家公司工作，年薪不到5萬。她聰明能干，每周工作50～60小時?？墒?，她在西雅圖的房子月租又上漲了200美元，而她還在竭力償還學生貸款，還要為支付基本的生活開支而發愁?！拔腋械绞謶嵟?，”普賴斯說，“我開始想，我的朋友需要掙多少錢才可以不必為上漲的200美元租金煩惱?！彼叵肫鹌樟炙诡D大學的行為經濟學家丹尼爾·卡內曼在2010年所做的研究，該研究發現：當年收入超過7.5萬美元時，人們在日常生活中的幸福感并不會隨收入上升而上升；然而，當年收入低于7.5萬美元時，人們肯定是收入越低，幸福感越低。在Gravity公司，新員工的年薪是3.5萬美元。“我決定把工資漲到7萬，”他說，“不得不停付自己的工資，每天必須工作20小時，我也不在乎。我就要這么做?！卑凑者@個計劃，最終將會有30名員工的薪水提高一倍，而另外40名收入低于7萬的員工也會獲得加薪。

是否有這樣一個神奇的數字，既能讓員工保持專心工作，又能讓企業獲得利潤？普賴斯算出了一個數字，卻無論如何也想不到他由此受到的關注會令公司收到的新客戶咨詢量從每月30次激增到兩周2000次。獲取新客戶的成本往往非常高，所以從這個意義上說，丹的策略收到了回報。

普賴斯說，設定7萬美元的最低工資標準是一種道義責任，而非經營策略。不過，他必須證明此舉背后的經營智慧，不僅是為了不讓Gravity倒下—自己也跟著它倒下—而且也為了實現他改造商業界的長遠目標?！拔蚁Ｍ鳛槠髽I的領導者，決定我的成績的不是金錢，而是目標、影響和服務，”他說，“我希望我們把這些作為自我評價的標準?！?/p>

1. rip off：剝削；欺詐；敲……竹杠

2. take aback：使困惑；使吃驚；使為難

3. gouge [ɡa?d?] vt. 〈美口〉詐騙（人）的錢財；敲（人）竹杠

4. swipe [swa?p] vt. 〈口〉刷（卡）

5. traumatized [?tr??m?ta?zd] adj. 受精神創傷的

6. keep a lid on：繼續限制；制止??；抑制住

7. proactively [pr????kt?vli] adv. 先發制人地，主動出擊地

8. set [set] adj. 下定決心的，堅決的

9. face-off：對峙，對抗

10. phase in：分階段（或逐步）引入（或采用）

11. strike a nerve：觸及要害，觸到痛處

12. turbocharge [?t??（r）b???t?ɑ?（r）d?] vt. 增強

13. C-suite：指企業最高管理層，因英文名稱CEO、CFO、COO等的開頭字母都是C而得名。

14. honcho [?h?nt???] n. 〈美口〉上司，老板

15. in the wake of：（尤指不好的事）緊隨……而來，作為某事的后果

16. home equity：房屋凈值；資產凈值

17. tepid [?tep?d] adj. 不熱烈的，不熱情的

18. punditry [?p?nd?tri] n. 專家（或權威等）的學問（或方法、見解）

19. back down：放棄原來的主張；退縮，打退堂鼓

20. live paycheck to paycheck：過月光族的生活

21. sparse [spɑ?（r）s] adj. 稀少的；稀疏的

22. bland [bl?nd] adj. 淡而無味的；枯燥乏味的

23. exorbitant [?ɡ?z??（r）b?t?nt] adj. （價格、收費、要求等）過高的，過度的

24. in-house：存在（或起源）于機構內部的；在機構內部進行的；有關機構內部事務的

25. stingy [?st?nd?i] adj. 吝嗇的，吝惜的，小氣的

26. fluke [flu?k] n. 僥幸的擊中；僥幸取勝的一擊

27. Daniel Kahneman：丹尼爾·卡內曼（1934～），心理學家、經濟學家，于2002年獲得諾貝爾經濟學獎。

28. scorecard [?sk??（r）?kɑ?（r）d] n. 記分卡，示分牌