In the article, Give Me That Old-Time Motivation, Friedman discussed how John H. Patterson, who founded National Cash Register in 1884, tried new approaches on his sales team.  “Salesman who made their quotas was allowed to joint the company’s prestigious Hundred Point Club, whose members were rewarded with an all-expense-paid trip to the factory and a prize of $150 in gold.  At the factory, Hundred of Pointers were greeted with celebratory flags and posters and were cheered by NCR’s thousands of employees.”  Patterson’s thought on recognition is still a proven motivational tool.

Companies can learn from this example, to create an effective rewards program to enable both personal and organizational growth.  However, with today’s Gold price, companies cannot use this as a standard may be Euros or “Gas / Petrol” (Laughs!)

Cite this as:

YouSigma. (2008). "National Cash Register's Motivational Tool." From http://www.yousigma.com.