

Cut the Fat to Get to Lean Productivity - danw
http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/08/31/cut-the-fat-to-get-to-lean-productivity/

======
nostrademons
This completely misses the point about productivity. In my experience, the #1
reason why workers are only productive for 2/3 of the working day is _they
have no incentive to do otherwise_. After all, you go home at the same time
regardless of whether you finish your work quickly or not. You probably get
paid the same (module a small % raise) regardless of whether you do good work
or bad work.

People who want to get lots done typically get lots done. They don't need to
resort to productivity tips.

And companies with incentive structures that reward hard work typically get
it. Nucor consistently has some of the highest productivity in the steel
industry - their compensation structure involves salaries that range in the
$40K range, but bonus that can total up to $130K. Management consulting firms
consistently elicit high effort from employees, because they don't have face
time: once you finish your work, you can go home. Hedge fund managers never
seem to goof off, because they get paid 20% of the profits, often amounting to
billions of dollars. Startup founders work for incredibly long and focused
periods of time, because they enjoy all the upside of their work.

