John and Peter are two salesmen for the XYZ corporation. John sells twice as much as Peter. John earns twice as much as Peter, right? Wrong. John may even earn less. The XYZ corporation’s sales compensation plan is not unique in the modern business world. In the past decade many companies have turned to sophisticated […]
John and Peter are two salesmen for the XYZ corporation.
A version of this article appeared in the May 1978 issue of Harvard Business Review.
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Mr. Gonik is the director of data processing marketing support at IBM Brazil. His areas of responsibility include marketing programs, education, support services, and data centers and information records. He is currently preparing a book on motivation techniques based on his experiences in Brazil.
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Leading People. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.