The Problem With End-of-Year Bonuses
Done wrong, says Lou Mosca in this week's video, they can be the kiss of death.
Good Morning!
Here are today’s highlights:
Is Alan Pentz right about the coming wave of AI disruption? What do you think?
With the latest tariffs, the housing industry takes another hit—but domestic cabinet makers are cheering.
How high would coffee prices have to go before consumers stopped buying?
Even with E-Verify shut down, a lapse in compliance can carry consequences.
MANAGEMENT
In his latest video, Lou Mosca says subjective, end-of-year bonuses are the kiss of death: “At American Management, we believe in checks, double-checks, and brutal clarity. That’s why we’ve said it before and we’ll repeat it: subjective year-end bonuses are a mistake. Handing out money based on feeling—or tradition—teaches employees to expect it. When it doesn’t come, you’ve got resentment. Not because they’re greedy, but because you trained them to see it as income. It’s important to treat people well, but there’s a better way.” CONNECT WITH LOU
THE 21 HATS SOUNDING BOARD
On our Slack channel, Chris Campbell responded to Alan Pentz’s provocative assertion that a devastating wave of AI disruption is coming for most businesses — and coming much faster than many realize: “Here is my hot take, as someone who has tried a lot of AI tools and agents: While I directionally agree, I think the timeframe is much longer. I think it will take years and likely decades to get full adoption across many industries. The AI software just isn’t good enough. I think they are basically mediocre college interns for most use cases (in my opinion). They are getting better at some things, but still have a long way to go. I also believe that AI isn’t going to ‘replace you’ but someone that understands and uses AI will. So everyday I try and experiment with new AI tools.”
