Groundworks.

Planning Library · People & Ops · Staged

Bonus plan.

How the Northstar OS turns WhyGos into compensation. Individual achievement × company achievement → payout %. Staged now so the mechanic is ready when Groundworks makes its first paid hires in Phase C.

Framework · LivePayouts · Staged (Phase C)
Mechanic

The formula.

bonus payout = target bonus × individual achievement × company achievement × payout curve

Both sides must earn. Strong individual work in a weak company year still under-pays; strong company year with a weak individual contribution still under-pays. That's the design.

  1. Step 1

    Grade Individual WhyGos

    Weighted achievement of each person's WhyGos from /dashboard/individual.

  2. Step 2

    Grade Company WhyGos

    Weighted achievement of the company WhyGos from /northstar.

  3. Step 3

    Multiply → payout

    Combined score maps to the payout curve below. Board approves the final.

Curve

Achievement → payout.

A threshold at 0.70, on-target at 1.00, accelerator up to 1.20, cap above. Same curve applies to both individual and company scores.

AchievementStatusPayoutNote
< 0.70🔴0%Below threshold. No bonus for that goal.
0.70 – 0.85🟡50–85%Partial payout. Linear ramp inside the band.
0.85 – 1.00🟡→🟢85–100%On-target zone.
1.00 – 1.20🟢100–120%Accelerator. Linear ramp above target.
> 1.20🟢120% (cap)Capped. Guards against sandbagged targets.
Worked example · Executive Director

Individual WhyGos.

Base [$110K] · target bonus [15%] = [$16.5K] at 100%. Weights sum to 1.00.

Individual WhyGoWeightTargetResultAchievementStatus
Close Founder's Table lead gifts0.34[$500K][$525K]1.05🟢
Sign fiscal sponsor + advisory board0.33[MOU + 5 seats][MOU + 4 seats]0.90🟡
Site LOI on shortlisted parcel0.33[1 LOI][0 LOI, 2 walks]0.60🔴
Weighted total1.000.852
Worked example · Company

Company WhyGos.

Same weighted grade against the three headline WhyGos on /northstar.

Company WhyGoWeightTargetResultAchievementStatus
Pre-open cash raised0.40[$1.2M][$1.05M]0.88🟡
Community depth (email + events)0.30[2,500 list · 12 events][2,900 · 14]1.13🟢
Fiscal + governance readiness0.30[MOU + board][MOU + partial]0.85🟡
Weighted total1.000.946
Rollup

This year's payout.

Individual score
0.852
weighted across 3 WhyGos
Company score
0.946
weighted across 3 WhyGos
Combined
0.806
individual × company
Read-out. Combined 0.806 falls in the 0.70–0.85 band → payout curve yields roughly ~81% of the [$16.5K] target bonus, or about [$13,299]. Illustrative only — board approves.
Ground rules

How this stays honest.

  • Weights sum to 1.00. Every WhyGo carries a weight; no unweighted goals.
  • Set at annual planning. Targets locked during the /annualplanning cycle — not mid-year.
  • Graded at QBR. Achievement is scored quarterly on /qbr, finalized at year-end.
  • Pool sized in the model. Bonus pool is a line item in /financials, funded before payout.
  • Board approves. Targets, curve, and final payouts pass through /governance.
  • Founder does not self-grade. ED bonus is graded by the board chair.
Related

See also.