“A couple of years ago, I went into a big-box shoe store and bought a pair of sneakers. At the checkout counter, the cashier grabbed a can of that bogus silicone spray stores always try to up-sell you. It’s supposed to make sneakers shiny and waterproof, but it doesn’t seem to do anything.”
From my latest Inc. column: Sins of Commissions
My dad emailed to add:
The same problem arises when you set measurable incentives (money for better test results) in educational policies like No Child Left Behind.