Strategy

Incentive Architecture

Reward intent. Predict behavior.

The design layer that turns company goals into rep behavior—by shaping upside, effort, and tradeoffs.

When to Pull This Lever

  • • New product launch, new segment, or margin pressure requiring behavior change
  • • Rep churn, or any quarter where "behavior feels off"

The Consequences

What It Moves

Pay mix • thresholds • accelerators • role differentiation • complexity budget • upside design

Blast Radius

Wrong behaviors • runaway cost • comp compression • retention damage • "plan cynicism"

Scoreboard

Cost of sale % • pay/performance correlation • payout variance • top-tier attrition • plan exception rate

Default Artifacts

Plan blueprint (one-pager) • role taxonomy • payout curve map • scenario pack (3–5 cases)

Common Failures

  • • Paying for the wrong thing (activity over outcomes, bookings over profitable bookings)
  • • Hidden cliffs and accidental "all-or-nothing" thresholds
  • • Complexity inflation (too many measures, exceptions, or role variants)
  • • Upside that's either meaningless (no motivation) or explosive (budget blowups)

Fast Wins

  • • Define a complexity budget (max measures, max exceptions, max payout mechanics)
  • • Replace "clever math" with clear curves (show the payout shape, not the formula)
  • • Run 3 mandatory sims: base / stretch / edge-case
  • • Hard-cap any mechanic that can compound unintentionally

Score This Lever

If you can't answer "yes" with proof, you don't score above 2.

  • 1
    Plan blueprint exists and matches what's paid
  • 2
    Payout curve is visualized (not just formulas)
  • 3
    Scenario pack run pre-launch (base/stretch/edge)
  • 4
    Complexity budget enforced (measure count, exceptions)
  • 5
    Plan changes are versioned with rationale

Score: 0 (Missing) → 1 (Documented) → 2 (Repeatable) → 3 (Controlled) → 4 (Optimized)

Maturity Ladder

1

Gut feel

plans are argued, not modeled

2

Documented

plan one-pagers + role mapping exist

3

Simulated

scenario packs required before launch

4

Governed

versioning + change control + evidence chain

5

Adaptive

in-quarter signals tune guidance and guardrails

The Kit

Starter Artifacts

Plan blueprint • payout curve map • complexity budget • role taxonomy • scenario pack

Next Lever