What Are RADs?
A RAD is a dimensionless unit and people measure their contributions with RADs. They represent any kind of contribution, not just financial.
Money has a fixed value, and stocks represent a fixed percentage of a property. RADs are dynamic and the percentage of them any co-owner has changes from cycle to cycle (e.g., monthly).
As an accounting tool, RADs account for has previously been unaccountable: individual contributions. They allow us to get away from “equal” and make things truly “equitable.”
Giving RADs
Co-owners then get to give RADs according to their individual judgment. Each decides how many RADs to give to other co-owners as recognition for their contributions.
The value of the whole emerges from the judgment of the many.
A few important observations about RAD,
- RADs are not a currency. A RAD has no intrinsic value.
- The giving criteria is completely up to each person.
- RADs represent dynamic ownership. One month you may give me all your RADs, but the next month you may not give me any.
- To calculate your percentage ownership, divide the number of RADs you have been given by the total number of RADs.
- RADs aggregate from cycle to cycle. The absolute number of RADs allocated to me either stays the same or goes up at every cycle, but it never goes down.
- On the other hand, my percentage of the total could go up, stay the same, or go down at every cycle.
- When revenue comes into the company later it is disbursed as a function of the number of RADs each person has.
Getting RADs
- Co-owners get one RAD per day.
- These RADs are to give, not to keep.
Recognizing Contributions
- There is a mobile RADs! app to make it easy to give RADs on your phone.
- Co-owners get to press a button in the RADs! app whenever they want to recognize contributions. They can press this recognition button as many times as they feel like.
- At the end of the cycle, the RADs! app converts these recognitions to RADs.
Teaching RADs
People are the best judges of what a contribution is. Sure, they may grant RADs and later regret it. In fact, that change of heart might have come as result of a conversation with other co-owners. That is how people learn!
One more thing: As people share and grant each other RADs, they also learn the value of what they’re building together at a visceral level.
Receiving RADs
The number of RADs you have determines your level of co-ownership.
In a Fiat business, profits belong to the owners. In a Radicals company, profits belong to co-owners based on the amount of RADs they have.
Your Cheatin’ RADs
Can this easily become a tit-for-tat exchange?
RAD-giving is transparent. If I give you all my RADs and you give me all your RADs, that is out there for all other co-owners to see. It is up to them to ask if they think that’s suspicious. Remember: you are a co-owner, you don’t need “protection” for asking questions.
Maybe what looks like a tit-for-tat has a perfectly good explanation, Weird! I didn’t realize that was happening. I gave him all my RADs because she did… .
Can this become a popularity contest?
Maybe you are “popular” and get lots of RADs because,
- You made an extraordinary contribution that everybody noticed.
- You share my knowledge with what seems like everybody.
- You suggested a change to our strategy that benefitted everybody.
In these cases, the “popularity” is earned and it is not a problem. It is healthy. The unhealthy form of “popularity” is something that can only happen in Fiat business, but very difficult to imagine happening in a Radical company.
- I talk a lot and contribute little.
- I am a very good looking man or woman.
- (The boss likes me.)
In these cases, co-owners can see what happens and, I hope, challenge the toxicity.
