Incentives Quotes

From all business, my favorite case on incentives is Federal Express. The heart and soul of their system—which creates the integrity of the product—is having all their airplanes come to one place in the middle of the night and shift all the packages from plane to plane. If there are delays, the whole operation can't deliver a product full of integrity to Federal Express customers. And it was always screwed up. They could never get it done on time. They tried everything —moral suasion, threats, you name it. And nothing worked. Finally, somebody got the idea to pay all these people not so much an hour, but so much a shift— and when it's all done, they can go home. Well, their problems cleared up overnight.

managing people management

All human beings work better when they get what psychologists call reinforcement. If you get constant rewards, even if you're Warren Buffett, you'll respond. . . . Learn from this and find out how to prosper by reinforcing the people who are close to you.

managing people

Nothing can move a man who is paid by the hour. How sweet the flight of time seems to his calm mind.

consultants

Every morning I take out my bankbook, stare at it, shudder — and turn quickly to my typewriter.

journalism