Many will disagree and take offense to this answer, but this is what is really wrong with most companies. They set goals, KPI, bonuses or whatever measurement and awards you want and they are not directly linked to making a profit for the company (Assuming making a financial profit is important and people want to get paid.).

Some say it is impossible. Well it is very hard to do, so your managers better spend most of their day on it. I guess that's why in the U.S. most companies don't last 5 years. How can you run a company if you can't identify what everyone is suppose to be working on to make money? What is the point of any incentives, job description or evaluation if you don't know what people should be doing? This is what every manager's job involves whether they know it or not.

Even a decision as simple as letting someone change branches can get complicated based on the ripple-effects on the company. You could lose a good employee by not letting her switch. You could lose a good manager if the company allows all her people to leave (Maybe the manager is not so great if she can't figure-out a way to keep good employees.). Will this person's productivity change as a result of going to branch B? What if by being surrounded by like-minded people, this person's talents are leveraged and the company makes more money? Seems like a situation where Team A should get some KPI points for doing the right thing and let her go.

The problem with the "Bob" situation is putting too much emphasis on individual productivity. Don't give Bob all the credit for doing a task by himself that could be better served by an entire team (Managers should be aware of this.). Give more incentives to the team and more of Bob's KPI contingent on team performance. With this setup, Bob would be a fool to sacrifice team performance and needs to go. Let Bob be selfish and take care of Bob, but design the rules so it benefits the company. That is called management.

Leadership fails when there is any reason one department hinders the performance of another department or team. Sales people who make excessive demands on the production of the goods and services to the point it is cost prohibitive, get punished. If the company has to hire engineers to put all the bells and whistles on the product in order for you to sell it, you take a hit on your commission. It works the other way when dead lines are not met as well. I think a sales person should get a bigger slice of the pie if she has to give the bad news to the client about a deliverable missed by another department.

The easiest trick in the book is to have someone stop doing a task and if nothing happens to the bottom line, you know it was never needed. Please, don't throw in some edge-case about doing something illegal or dangerous. That goes without saying. If you don't think it is about the money, then don't cash your check. To me, it's a great way to keep score in business.

Many will disagree and take offense to this answer, but this is what is really wrong with most companies. They set goals, KPI, bonuses or whatever measurement and awards you want and they are not directly linked to making a profit for the company (Assuming making a financial profit is important and people want to get paid.).

Some say it is impossible. Well it is very hard to do, so your managers better spend most of their day on it. I guess that's why in the U.S. most companies don't last 5 years. How can you run a company if you can't identify what everyone is suppose to be working on to make money? What is the point of any incentives, job description or evaluation if you don't know what people should be doing? This is what every manager's job involves whether they know it or not.

Even a decision as simple as letting someone change branches can get complicated based on the ripple-effects on the company. You could lose a good employee by not letting her switch. You could lose a good manager if the company allows all her people to leave (Maybe the manager is not so great if she can't figure-out a way to keep good employees.). Will this person's productivity change as a result of going to branch B? What if by being surrounded by like-minded people, this person's talents are leveraged and the company makes more money? Seems like a situation where Team A should get some KPI points for doing the right thing and let her go.

The problem with the "Bob" situation is putting too much emphasis on individual productivity. Don't give Bob all the credit for doing a task by himself that could be better served by an entire team (Managers should be aware of this.). Give more incentives to the team and more of Bob's KPI contingent on team performance. With this setup, Bob would be a fool to sacrifice team performance and needs to go. Let Bob be selfish and take care of Bob, but design the rules so it benefits the company. That is called management.

Leadership fails when there is any reason one department hinders the performance of another department or team. Sales people who make excessive demands on the production of the goods and services to the point it is cost prohibitive, get punished. If the company has to hire engineers to put all the bells and whistles on the product in order for you to sell it, you take a hit on your commission. It works the other way when dead lines are not met as well. I think a sales person should get a bigger slice of the pie if she has to give the bad news to the client about a deliverable missed by another department.

The easiest trick in the book is to have someone stop doing a task and if nothing happens to the bottom line, you know it was never needed. Long and short term benefits have to be considered as well. Please, don't throw in some edge-case about doing something illegal or dangerous. That goes without saying. If you don't think it is about the money, then don't cash your check. To me, it's a great way to keep score in business.