- There is the folly of rewarding A while hoping for B. What happens when the system rewards results and behaviors that are not those that will help the organization succeed? Employees are likely to engage in these often counterproductive behaviors when this behavior is what will earn them the desired rewards. One such example is the hope that executives will focus on long-term growth and environmental responsibility when, in fact, they are rewarded based on quarterly earnings. Given this situation, what are these executives likely to do? Will they think in the long term or quarter by quarter? A second example is an organization that would like its employees to be more entrepreneurial and innovative, but it does not reward employees who think creatively. What are employees likely to do? Will they be innovative and risk not getting reward, or will they continue to do things the old way? A third example is an organization that would like employees to focus on teamwork and a one-for-all spirit, but it rewards employees based on individual results. This happens in many professional sports teams. What are professional athletes likely to do? Will they pass the ball, or will they try to score themselves to improve their own individual statistic?