174 THE ROI OF HUMAN CAPITAL
to increase is premature until we check out and eliminate
the other possible causes. Among those other drivers that
must be examined are our product compared with that of
the competition in terms of price, performance, reliability,
deliverability, and service, plus the personal relationships
of seller to buyer. The movement of any single variable or
combination of variables could affect sales in either direc-
tion.
Congratulating the sales force without checking other
possibilities can cause problems. We might even go so far
as to give an extra bonus for outstanding performance only
to learn later that the increase was due to a competitor’s
inability to deliver while its plant was on strike or burned
down. Suppose the competitor ...