Pay For Performance — For Everyone!
Pay For Performance — For Everyone!
Pay For Performance — For Everyone!
Pay For Performance — For Everyone!
Psychologists, CEOs, sales experts, and organizational development gurus all agree: the best way to change behavior is through selective reinforcement with positive consequences. Organizations that reward good performance at all levels prove the benefits of their compensation strategy through their profitable growth, customer satisfaction, and long term sustainability.
We are made to respond to positive and negative reinforcement.
Our bodies respond positively to sleeping well, eating well, and the right amount of exercise. Our minds are inspired by learning good things and sharing our knowledge with others. Our feelings respond well when we are kind to someone — even a simple smile — and when they respond with kindness toward us, our reward only grows.
Conversely, our bodies let us know when we are not sleeping and eating well or when we don’t exercise enough. Our minds get foggy when we abuse substances and depressed when we spend too much time on social media or with other negative influences.
We are responsive creatures.
Positive Incentives Increase Positive Outcomes
Psychologists, CEOs, sales experts, and organizational development gurus all agree: the best way to change behavior is through selective reinforcement with positive consequences.
Good boards understand how to establish incentive rewards for executives, and savvy business leaders know how to craft commission and revenue sharing plans in order to reward all of those who create value. Pay for performance is widely used for executives and revenue producing employees.
What if more workers received performance base compensation for their exceptionally good work? Workers obviously already face negative consequences for substandard work. Giving more workers clear performance standards and rewards for exceeding them benefits individuals, organizations and the customers they serve.
Everyone wins!
Rewarding Desired Behavior Works
Organizations that reward good performance at all levels prove the benefits of their compensation strategy through their profitable growth, customer satisfaction, and long term sustainability. “When compensation is managed carefully, it aligns people’s behavior with the company’s strategy and generates better performance. When it’s managed poorly, the effects can be devastating: the loss of key talent, demotivation, misaligned objectives, and poor shareholder returns. Given the high stakes, it’s critical for boards and management teams to get compensation right.” – Compensation Packages That Actually Drive Performance, HBR
It is critical to know what behavior you want to motivate. Sometimes, companies even incentivize people to quit. For example, Amazon and Zappos have used programs that literally pay people to quit. Jeff Bezos described it this way in an interview with Harvard Business Review, “The goal is to encourage folks to take a moment and think about what they really want. In the long-run, an employee staying somewhere they don’t want to be isn’t healthy for the employee or the company.” Culture is critically important, and these companies have determined that it’s worth a few dollars to motivate the people who do not really want to work at an organization to quit.
The Greatest Possible Rewards
The most mission focused and strategically aligned leader in the history of the world is Jesus, and He spoke about rewards often. Jesus made clear that our beliefs, thoughts, and actions have consequences. Jesus — better than anyone who has ever lived — was able to explain how positive and negative reinforcement shapes us physically, psychologically, and spiritually.
Toward the end of His ministry on earth Jesus told a parable to help both the religious and non-religious understand the purpose of their lives and their roles in the kingdom of God. Some of them were confused about the timing of when the kingdom would appear, their roles, responsibilities, and even the rewards of continuing to follow Jesus and His commands.
The parable is equally profitable for us today.
A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.
“Put this money to work,” he said, “until I come back.”
But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, “We don't want this man to be our king.”
He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
The first one came and said, “Sir, your mina has earned ten more.”
“Well done, my good servant!” his master replied. “Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.”
The second came and said, “Sir, your mina has earned five more.”
His master answered, “You take charge of five cities.”
Then another servant came and said, “Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.”
His master replied, “I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?”
Then he said to those standing by, “Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.”
“Sir,” they said, “he already has ten!”
He replied, “I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.” – Luke 19:12-27
Jesus is clarifying that recognizing Him as King, trusting Him, and faithfully following His commands have permanent consequences — it’s a matter of eternal life and death. And, it’s about the incredible rewards he offers to those who prove most faithful.
We know that salvation is a free gift of God, not from works so that no man can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). In fact, just before Jesus told this story He bestowed undeserved salvation on the tax collector Zacchaeus — causing outrage among the religious leaders. Zacchaeus’ response of giving back more than he’d taken shows what a true believer, chosen by God, does with their life.
In this parable, Jesus is going beyond the free gift of salvation.
Jesus used parables to communicate simple truths to those who “have ears to listen.” One of the keys to understanding the parables of Jesus is to understand each of the main characters — the context they are in, their actions, and the consequences of their actions. This is how Jesus reveals His main points.
In this parable the main characters are:
- The man of noble birth — He represents Jesus. Within the broader context of Jesus’ life, He was about to go away and give His followers commands about what to do while He was away. In this parable Jesus is letting His followers know that the kingdom is not coming immediately after He gets to Jerusalem. He is letting them know that He will be going away for a while and that His followers will have responsibilities while He is gone.
- The servants — They represent Jesus’ followers. They are given instruction about how to be faithful while He is gone. Biblical scholars say the number 10 means it applies to all of His followers. In the story, two of the servants are faithful with different amounts of success and different levels of rewards based on their level of success. The first one came and said, “Sir, your mina has earned ten more.” “Well done, my good servant!” his master replied. “Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.” The second came and said, “Sir, your mina has earned five more.” His master answered, “You take charge of five cities.” The reward is staggeringly more responsibility and benefits!
- The third servant — He represents people who may be following Jesus for now, but instead of surrendering to the King they end up not trusting Him, resenting Him, believing what He asks is unreasonable, and ultimately choosing to go their own way.
- Enemies and those who hate the king — They represent those who are opposed to Jesus and have no desire to follow Him. As the end of the parable indicates, hard-hearted people who do not repent and follow Jesus will ultimately be destroyed.
God Rewards Those Who Follow His Commands
Another key to unlocking the truth of parables is to put them alongside other truths from God’s word and see how those scriptures illuminate, refine, and confirm the parable. Jesus frequently talked about rewards for faithful performance. “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done” (Matthew 16:27). Jesus wants us to know He rewards faithful performance.
The Apostle Paul’s perfect summary of what it means to work faithfully shines some of the best light on faithful work for the Lord and rewards that we will receive. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24).
God Rewards Some Even More!
This parable is saying that God rewards those who prove faithful — even when we are faithful with things that appear insignificant. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much (Luke 16:10).
The first reward for the first servant who responded to the king, “Sir, your mina has earned ten more,” is recognition by the King. Jesus says, “Well done, my good servant!”
The second reward is an enormous amount of responsibility and the benefits that come with great responsibility, “Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.” What can 10 cities be worth? To the listener that day, it would have been incalculable!
Our trustworthiness as servants of the King will produce a reward in heaven that is so great it cannot be measured.
It’s Not About The Money
The parable is not primarily about money or even the stewardship of money. Jesus talks a lot about money because His followers are often led astray by the temporary rewards of money. Jesus had already summarized His teaching on money “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” – Luke 16:13
In this parable, Jesus uses a financial example because His followers understand how money works and can relate to outlandish financial multiples as staggering rewards.
It’s About Following Commands
Jesus, the greatest leader of all time, has always been clear about what it means to follow Him. Jesus called some of His first followers by saying, “Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people.” – Matthew 4:19
After His death and resurrection, Jesus, the risen King, was about to go away and He gave this incredible command to His followers.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20
The Parable of The 10 minas foreshadows this majestic command — the great commission — which is given to all Jesus’ followers. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, (Luke 19:10) and He often said to, go and do likewise.
But, how do we do that? We are not Jesus! Yes, it’s true we are not Jesus, but we can follow The Way of Jesus by deploying what we have for the benefit of others. We can love people with our gifts so they can come to know the King.
As instruments of love, with the purpose of introducing others to Jesus, all our actions should point toward the eternal King. And, one way to point others to Jesus is to share generously what we have now.
As leaders of businesses, organizations, and teams we can design compensation plans to share in the rewards of our work. In doing so, we do more than build better organizations for the short term, we gain the opportunity to let someone know that Jesus is the Savior King they need.
All of us have an opportunity to share what we have to encourage someone to know Jesus.
The reward could be 10 cities and more!
Resources
Business Model Busting For Good
Business Is Provision For People
Compensation Packages That Actually Drive Performance
How a “Pay-to-Quit” Strategy Can Reveal Your Most Motivated Employees
We are made to respond to positive and negative reinforcement.
Our bodies respond positively to sleeping well, eating well, and the right amount of exercise. Our minds are inspired by learning good things and sharing our knowledge with others. Our feelings respond well when we are kind to someone — even a simple smile — and when they respond with kindness toward us, our reward only grows.
Conversely, our bodies let us know when we are not sleeping and eating well or when we don’t exercise enough. Our minds get foggy when we abuse substances and depressed when we spend too much time on social media or with other negative influences.
We are responsive creatures.
Positive Incentives Increase Positive Outcomes
Psychologists, CEOs, sales experts, and organizational development gurus all agree: the best way to change behavior is through selective reinforcement with positive consequences.
Good boards understand how to establish incentive rewards for executives, and savvy business leaders know how to craft commission and revenue sharing plans in order to reward all of those who create value. Pay for performance is widely used for executives and revenue producing employees.
What if more workers received performance base compensation for their exceptionally good work? Workers obviously already face negative consequences for substandard work. Giving more workers clear performance standards and rewards for exceeding them benefits individuals, organizations and the customers they serve.
Everyone wins!
Rewarding Desired Behavior Works
Organizations that reward good performance at all levels prove the benefits of their compensation strategy through their profitable growth, customer satisfaction, and long term sustainability. “When compensation is managed carefully, it aligns people’s behavior with the company’s strategy and generates better performance. When it’s managed poorly, the effects can be devastating: the loss of key talent, demotivation, misaligned objectives, and poor shareholder returns. Given the high stakes, it’s critical for boards and management teams to get compensation right.” – Compensation Packages That Actually Drive Performance, HBR
It is critical to know what behavior you want to motivate. Sometimes, companies even incentivize people to quit. For example, Amazon and Zappos have used programs that literally pay people to quit. Jeff Bezos described it this way in an interview with Harvard Business Review, “The goal is to encourage folks to take a moment and think about what they really want. In the long-run, an employee staying somewhere they don’t want to be isn’t healthy for the employee or the company.” Culture is critically important, and these companies have determined that it’s worth a few dollars to motivate the people who do not really want to work at an organization to quit.
The Greatest Possible Rewards
The most mission focused and strategically aligned leader in the history of the world is Jesus, and He spoke about rewards often. Jesus made clear that our beliefs, thoughts, and actions have consequences. Jesus — better than anyone who has ever lived — was able to explain how positive and negative reinforcement shapes us physically, psychologically, and spiritually.
Toward the end of His ministry on earth Jesus told a parable to help both the religious and non-religious understand the purpose of their lives and their roles in the kingdom of God. Some of them were confused about the timing of when the kingdom would appear, their roles, responsibilities, and even the rewards of continuing to follow Jesus and His commands.
The parable is equally profitable for us today.
A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.
“Put this money to work,” he said, “until I come back.”
But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, “We don't want this man to be our king.”
He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
The first one came and said, “Sir, your mina has earned ten more.”
“Well done, my good servant!” his master replied. “Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.”
The second came and said, “Sir, your mina has earned five more.”
His master answered, “You take charge of five cities.”
Then another servant came and said, “Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.”
His master replied, “I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?”
Then he said to those standing by, “Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.”
“Sir,” they said, “he already has ten!”
He replied, “I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.” – Luke 19:12-27
Jesus is clarifying that recognizing Him as King, trusting Him, and faithfully following His commands have permanent consequences — it’s a matter of eternal life and death. And, it’s about the incredible rewards he offers to those who prove most faithful.
We know that salvation is a free gift of God, not from works so that no man can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). In fact, just before Jesus told this story He bestowed undeserved salvation on the tax collector Zacchaeus — causing outrage among the religious leaders. Zacchaeus’ response of giving back more than he’d taken shows what a true believer, chosen by God, does with their life.
In this parable, Jesus is going beyond the free gift of salvation.
Jesus used parables to communicate simple truths to those who “have ears to listen.” One of the keys to understanding the parables of Jesus is to understand each of the main characters — the context they are in, their actions, and the consequences of their actions. This is how Jesus reveals His main points.
In this parable the main characters are:
- The man of noble birth — He represents Jesus. Within the broader context of Jesus’ life, He was about to go away and give His followers commands about what to do while He was away. In this parable Jesus is letting His followers know that the kingdom is not coming immediately after He gets to Jerusalem. He is letting them know that He will be going away for a while and that His followers will have responsibilities while He is gone.
- The servants — They represent Jesus’ followers. They are given instruction about how to be faithful while He is gone. Biblical scholars say the number 10 means it applies to all of His followers. In the story, two of the servants are faithful with different amounts of success and different levels of rewards based on their level of success. The first one came and said, “Sir, your mina has earned ten more.” “Well done, my good servant!” his master replied. “Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.” The second came and said, “Sir, your mina has earned five more.” His master answered, “You take charge of five cities.” The reward is staggeringly more responsibility and benefits!
- The third servant — He represents people who may be following Jesus for now, but instead of surrendering to the King they end up not trusting Him, resenting Him, believing what He asks is unreasonable, and ultimately choosing to go their own way.
- Enemies and those who hate the king — They represent those who are opposed to Jesus and have no desire to follow Him. As the end of the parable indicates, hard-hearted people who do not repent and follow Jesus will ultimately be destroyed.
God Rewards Those Who Follow His Commands
Another key to unlocking the truth of parables is to put them alongside other truths from God’s word and see how those scriptures illuminate, refine, and confirm the parable. Jesus frequently talked about rewards for faithful performance. “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done” (Matthew 16:27). Jesus wants us to know He rewards faithful performance.
The Apostle Paul’s perfect summary of what it means to work faithfully shines some of the best light on faithful work for the Lord and rewards that we will receive. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24).
God Rewards Some Even More!
This parable is saying that God rewards those who prove faithful — even when we are faithful with things that appear insignificant. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much (Luke 16:10).
The first reward for the first servant who responded to the king, “Sir, your mina has earned ten more,” is recognition by the King. Jesus says, “Well done, my good servant!”
The second reward is an enormous amount of responsibility and the benefits that come with great responsibility, “Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.” What can 10 cities be worth? To the listener that day, it would have been incalculable!
Our trustworthiness as servants of the King will produce a reward in heaven that is so great it cannot be measured.
It’s Not About The Money
The parable is not primarily about money or even the stewardship of money. Jesus talks a lot about money because His followers are often led astray by the temporary rewards of money. Jesus had already summarized His teaching on money “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” – Luke 16:13
In this parable, Jesus uses a financial example because His followers understand how money works and can relate to outlandish financial multiples as staggering rewards.
It’s About Following Commands
Jesus, the greatest leader of all time, has always been clear about what it means to follow Him. Jesus called some of His first followers by saying, “Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people.” – Matthew 4:19
After His death and resurrection, Jesus, the risen King, was about to go away and He gave this incredible command to His followers.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20
The Parable of The 10 minas foreshadows this majestic command — the great commission — which is given to all Jesus’ followers. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, (Luke 19:10) and He often said to, go and do likewise.
But, how do we do that? We are not Jesus! Yes, it’s true we are not Jesus, but we can follow The Way of Jesus by deploying what we have for the benefit of others. We can love people with our gifts so they can come to know the King.
As instruments of love, with the purpose of introducing others to Jesus, all our actions should point toward the eternal King. And, one way to point others to Jesus is to share generously what we have now.
As leaders of businesses, organizations, and teams we can design compensation plans to share in the rewards of our work. In doing so, we do more than build better organizations for the short term, we gain the opportunity to let someone know that Jesus is the Savior King they need.
All of us have an opportunity to share what we have to encourage someone to know Jesus.
The reward could be 10 cities and more!
Resources
Business Model Busting For Good
Business Is Provision For People
Compensation Packages That Actually Drive Performance
How a “Pay-to-Quit” Strategy Can Reveal Your Most Motivated Employees