Most people parting with their ethics to embrace an incentive don’t do it consciously, which is why incentives are so persuasive. Incentives are expert storytellers, able to tell a convincing narrative in anyone’s head that the actions they’re promoting are actually good. And we love that narrative, because people are actually good. The beautiful story incentives tell – that you can have your cake and eat it too – has caused good people to embrace and defend ideas that range from goofy to disastrous.
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(highlight:: I believe companies can create amazing work cultures with intentional perks, autonomy, transparency, and mission.
But it’s one of the things I believe least, because most of what makes a culture great is just whether a company is winning or not.
Free kombucha and casual dress codes are no match for layoffs, losing money, and watching your stock price plunge against competitors.
On the other hand, employees will gladly pack their own lunch if they’re part of a team that’s crushing expectations.
Every company known for a great culture is winning. And every company struggling with culture is losing. There are few exceptions to this rule.)
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(highlight:: But there’s a chicken-and-egg problem with culture. Which came first, the culture or the performance?
It’s easy to link culture to morale and morale to performance. But the causation is stronger in the other direction. A company’s performance affects things like job security and external signaling, which affect loyalty and pride, which build culture. Craig put it this way: “Winning as a company enables great culture. Not the other way around.”)
- View Highlight
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Most people parting with their ethics to embrace an incentive don’t do it consciously, which is why incentives are so persuasive. Incentives are expert storytellers, able to tell a convincing narrative in anyone’s head that the actions they’re promoting are actually good. And we love that narrative, because people are actually good. The beautiful story incentives tell – that you can have your cake and eat it too – has caused good people to embrace and defend ideas that range from goofy to disastrous.
- View Highlight
-

(highlight:: I believe companies can create amazing work cultures with intentional perks, autonomy, transparency, and mission.
But it’s one of the things I believe least, because most of what makes a culture great is just whether a company is winning or not.
Free kombucha and casual dress codes are no match for layoffs, losing money, and watching your stock price plunge against competitors.
On the other hand, employees will gladly pack their own lunch if they’re part of a team that’s crushing expectations.
Every company known for a great culture is winning. And every company struggling with culture is losing. There are few exceptions to this rule.)
- View Highlight
-

(highlight:: But there’s a chicken-and-egg problem with culture. Which came first, the culture or the performance?
It’s easy to link culture to morale and morale to performance. But the causation is stronger in the other direction. A company’s performance affects things like job security and external signaling, which affect loyalty and pride, which build culture. Craig put it this way: “Winning as a company enables great culture. Not the other way around.”)
- View Highlight
-