by marc rosenberg
partner comp: art & science
“if people are concerned about their absolute level of compensation, then they can be satisfied. however, if their focus is on relative standing, then they can never be satisfied.”
– andrew grove, former chairman, intel
an open compensation system is one in which all partners know the earnings of all partners.
more on partner compensation: 5 other systems for paying partners | 3 non-performance-based comp systems | 3 subjective compensation systems | partner compensation 101 | how partners view compensation: it’s not all about the money | why most partner comp systems are performance-based
a closed system is one in which a limited number of partners are privy to this information. in closed systems, the only partners with access to all partners’ income are usually the managing partner, the compensation committee and/or the executive committee.