Everything on Incentive Design

Zero-sum management practices, such as stack ranking, create a competitive environment that leads to information hoarding and reduced collaboration. This undermines the very efficiency these practices are intended to drive.

Impact: Shifting incentives from individual output to team success can unlock hidden knowledge and improve collaborative problem-solving.

— from Combating Workplace Cynicism for Operational Efficiency · HBR On Leadership· Feb 25, 2026

Compensating both Account Executives and Customer Success Managers for upsells aligns incentives across the revenue team. This dual compensation structure encourages collaboration and maximizes account expansion.

Impact: Increases cross-selling and upselling efforts, directly boosting NRR and overall revenue per account.

— from ElevenLabs Sales Strategy: 20x Quotas and Ruthless Outbound · The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch· Feb 14, 2026