Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

The employees now had a good understanding of what it was they
needed to do to earn their bones. As a result, the bonus now truly
incentivized behavior and could thereby make the company more
productive.
In the coming weeks, the plant manager and chief engineer reported
an almost immediate increase in productivity. More employees focused
their energy on what product would make them more money, which was
of course aligned with the goals of the company. There were secondary
effects as well. As the higher-producing employees strove harder to
increase their bonuses, the lower-producing workers were left with less
orders to fulfill. Within a month, the company let go the four employees
with the lowest bonus scores, who had long been the weakest performers
and had dragged the entire team down. Now, the company no longer
needed them, as the rest of the crew had drastically increased their
efficiency.
The most impressive thing about this improvement in performance
was that it did not come from a major process change or an advance in
technology. Instead, it came through a leadership principle that has been
around for ages: Simple.