Sometimes you maximize productivity by giv ing everybody his or her own office. Sometimes you achieve it by moving every body into open space. Sometimes you use financial incentives to stimulate productivity A combination of approaches is usually required One element that almost always increases productivity is providing an information system that emp owers employee When I was building microsoft, I set out to create an environment where software developers could thrive. I wanted a company where engineers liked to work. I wanted to create a culture that encouraged them to work together, share ideas and remain highly motivated. If I hadnt been a software engineer myself, there's no way I could have achieved my goal. As the company grew, we developed supportive cultures in our international operations and in sales and marketing, too 4. Define success. Make it clear to your emp loyees what constitutes success and how they should measure their achievements Goals must berealistic Project schedules, for example, must be set by the people who do the work. People will accept a"bottoms-up" deadline they helped set, but they 'll be cynical about a schedule imposed from the top that doesnt map to reality. Unachievable goals undermine an organizationSometimes you maximize productivity by giving everybody his or her own office. Sometimes you achieve it by moving everybody into open space. Sometimes you use financial incentives to stimulate productivity. A combination of approaches is usually required. One element that almost always increases productivity is providing an information system that empowers employees. When I was building Microsoft, I set out to create an environment where software developers could thrive. I wanted a company where engineers liked to work. I wanted to create a culture that encouraged them to work together, share ideas and remain highly motivated. If I hadn’t been a software engineer myself, there’s no way I could have achieved my goal. As the company grew, we developed supportive cultures in our international operations and in sales and marketing, too. 4. Define success. Make it clear to your employees what constitutes success and how they should measure their achievements. Goals must be realistic. Project schedules, for example, must be set by the people who do the work. People will accept a "bottoms-up" deadline they helped set, but they’ll be cynical about a schedule imposed from the top that doesn’t map to reality. Unachievable goals undermine an organization