Understanding the connection between productivity and pay
In the 1950s, ׳60s, and for part of the ׳70s, a great deal of work was done to understand the impact of compensation and productivity on the workplace. (Given the unionization and labor problems Apple, Google, and Amazon now face, it seems clear that those lessons might not have been part of executive training.) I spent a great deal of time on this subject in undergraduate and graduate school, and when running a compensation program at IBM. I also learned it is inadvisable to call the head of your division an idiot — even if he was fired a few months later when our revenues went from $750 million to $250 million while holding costs constant. I’ve learned to be more circumspect when talking to bosses.