Business Quote by Gabe Newell
“About half the people at Valve have run their own companies, so they always have the option not just to take a job at another game company, but to go start their own company. The question you always have to answer is, 'How are we making these people more valuable than they would be elsewhere?'”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Valve CEO interview, 2011
Valve values employees who could become entrepreneurs, so they must be made more valuable than elsewhere.
In simple terms: Valve wants to keep talent by offering more value than other firms.
Key Takeaway
Provide unique growth and ownership opportunities.
Themes
talent retention
entrepreneurship
company culture
Mood
pragmatic
optimistic
Type
business
leadership
When to use this quote
- career development
- startup mentorship
- internal incubator
- stock options
Key Concepts
employee empowerment
value creation
Questions to Reflect On
- How can a company continuously increase employee value?
- What incentives truly retain entrepreneurial talent?
A Different Perspective
Employees may still leave for greater autonomy.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)