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Politics & Economics
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Faith & Cultureby Rod D. Martin
February 18, 2014
Recently PayPal CEO David Marcus wrote an email to his staff that has spread far beyond San Jose, resulting (at least) in two Venture Beat stories and today an editorial at Fox Business. The gist of it is that a bunch of PayPal employees were seen out and about forgetting their PayPal passwords, failing to use a PayPal mobile app, and in some cases outright refusing to download the thing.
This hacked off their boss. So he sent an email to “All Staff” suggesting rather strongly that people who don’t believe in the company’s products enough to use them shouldn’t work there.
There’s a been a lot of disagreement over this, and I should note that one of the people who was particularly and publicly unimpressed was Keith Rabois, a friend and former PayPalian for whom I have great respect. Keith’s take is (roughly) that Marcus is engaging in the John Scully model of leadership, and that if your employees won’t use your app you have a problem with your product and your culture.
That’s very likely true. It’s also true that there were a number of other things wrong with that email, and that approach.
But while I certainly would not have written the email Marcus sent, I think his thought was right, and I think the Fox Business writer in particular was entirely too touchy-feely about it. Maybe his opinion reflects a view of PayPal as just another company among many giant companies, and maybe that’s true today.
But that’s not our PayPal. We were an insurgency out to change the world, and we did. The lowliest janitor had access to the CEO, and was expected to be on the team (and was rewarded as a member of the team). Honestly, if you didn’t share that vision, you didn’t belong there, you wouldn’t have wanted to be there very long, and you were certainly detrimental to what we were doing, no matter how skilled you might have been.
Moreover, if we were really that much better and were willing to ask you to trust us with your money so we could prove that to you, the idea that anyone would (a) not have a PayPal account or (b) not use it or (c) not care — especially out in public in the Valley — would have been exactly the equivalent in message and in damage to a bunch of guys working for Steve Jobs going to lunch with their Windows laptops and Android phones. Total train wreck.
So yes, Marcus didn’t handle this well, yes you cannot create good morale through threats, and yes the company should seriously consider whether it has either a product problem or a morale problem or both. But I have to confess that if I were David Marcus, my tendency would be to squash this like a big ugly bug. I know PayPal’s not a startup anymore, but for my part at least, it remains a place that requires and deserves your passion, and if you don’t have that passion, you should go work somewhere you do believe in.
And that’s pretty much how I feel about everything we do, because that’s the only way you ever do anything truly great.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin and [former Howard Dean campaign manager] Joe Trippi are America’s two foremost experts on online politics.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.