Contrary to what you think, your company will be a lot more productive if you refuse to tolerate competition among your employees.

The legendary statistical consultant W. Edwards Deming, . . . has called the system by which merit is appraised and rewarded 'the most powerful inhibitor to quality and productivity in the Western world' . . . it is simply unfair to the extent that employees are held responsible for what are, in reality, systemic factors that are beyond their control.

Assessments should compare the performance of students to a set of expectations, never to the performance of other students.

Do rewards motivate people? Absolutely. They motivate people to get rewards.

How can we do our best when we are spending our energies trying to make others lose - and fearing that they will make us lose?

Don't let anyone tell you that standardized tests are not accurate measures. The truth of the matter is they offer a remarkably precise method for gauging the size of the houses near the school where the test was administered.

Most of us would protest that of course we love our children without any strings attached. But what counts is how things look from the perspective of the children