People do what you reward
People don’t follow what you say—they follow what actually gets rewarded. When there’s a gap between stated values and real incentives, behavior will always align with the incentives. If you want different outcomes, start by changing what you reward.
Carter Cathey
4/6/20261 min read
People don’t do what you say.
They do what you reward.
Every company has a version of this gap.
They say they value:
Innovation
Accountability
Customer focus
Ownership
But when you look at what actually gets rewarded, you often see something very different.
Innovation… but only if it works
Accountability… unless it’s inconvenient
Customer focus… until it slows down internal processes
Ownership… as long as it stays within your lane
Over time, people figure it out.
They stop listening to what’s said…and start optimizing for what actually happens.
Because that’s the real system.
Not the mission statement.
Not the leadership offsite.
Not the all-hands messaging.
👉 The system is the incentives.
And incentives—formal or informal—always win.
Close:
If you want to change behavior, don’t rewrite the message.
Rewrite what gets rewarded.
About Carter Cathey
Carter Cathey is a sales and revenue leader with more than 20 years of experience helping market research, technology, and private-equity-backed businesses scale revenue, improve operations, and build predictable growth systems.
Throughout his career, he has led sales transformation initiatives, pricing strategy projects, subscription business model transitions, operational redesign efforts, and commercial growth programs.
He writes about leadership, organizational design, business systems, data-driven decision making, and the challenges companies face as they scale.
Learn more about Carter Cathey.
Key Links:
