Shared Survival Beats Aligned Incentives

"What we did was push aside the notion that managers agers and employees have inherently separate interests. ests. We've joined with our employees to pursue a goal we can all believe in: long-term survival. We run Nucor first and foremost to ensure that, a decade or two from now, there will still be a place for our children dren and grandchildren to work without being laid off. That is our higher cause."

"Why make products when there's nobody to buy them? Cutting back to four-day or even three-day work weeks reduced the average Nucor worker's earnings by 25 percent. You know that had to hurt. Still, as I'd walk through our mills and plants, I never heard one employee complain about it. Not one."

"The way we see it, making a living in today's economy omy is like crossing a broad and stormy sea. You could jump straight in and start swimming. Of course, that would be foolish. People with sense will get together and build themselves a boat. And when the seas get a little rough, you could run around pushing your shipmates overboard. People with composure work together to pull through the storms. They deal with the perils of the moment together, never forgetting that the people around them represent their best hope of reaching a better future."