You are the CEO of Thinkfast, Inc., a high technology firm in Boston. Your top engineer, Jenny Lee, has just been offered a position with your leading competitor, Worksmart.com in Illinois. Pay will be $300,000 a year, twice the $150,000 a year she makes at Thinkfast. Jenny began her career with your firm and has been a loyal and productive scientist. She is in the final stages of developing a microchip that could provide millions of dollars in new business. No one else on your staff can replace Jenny’s expertise. Jenny wants you to match the $300,000 salary or she leaves for Worksmart. She cannot take the microchip to a competitor, but she can begin something new for Worksmart, while you try to find someone qualified to take over her old project and position. You currently have a policy (set by you) of frozen salaries until Thinkfast shows a profit, something it has yet to do. Thinkfast is a high-tech startup company that you founded. You are the principal owner. The very survival of your company may be at stake. You need to negotiate the best outcome for Thinkfast.
