The most common phenomena in the corporate world include missing deadlines and not meeting expectations. In fact, it is quite rare to both not miss a deadline and meet (or exceed) expectations. This has been the case for so very long that the dynamics of a delivery organization is shaped to account for these phenomena.

The ideal way to go about things would be to get all stakeholders on board with the end goal and allow a free hand to each one for contributing their bit. This makes for an open and transparent ecosystem where everyone is aware of what it takes from them and from everyone else to meet the end goal. This allows things to move quickly. This lets everyone succeed in reaching the goal together. Or fail together.

This ecosystem is very often seen in start-ups. When the number of stakeholders are few and the goal common, it is natural for such an ecosystem to emerge. But the problems begin when scale hits. With an increasing number of stakeholders, it is difficult (impossible) to have everyone's goals aligned with that of the organization. This leads to a distinction between owners and employees. Owners have their goals aligned while employees have little say in the goals and the vision.

It is quite natural, then, that most growing organizations fail to maintain the same levels of output and enthusiasm as they get bigger in size. As a mitigation, incentives are introduced at every level to keep everyone motivated. This never works as it is impossible to have a homogeneous set of people who are motivated by similar incentives.

Some people are happy just doing their bit for the organization, enjoying the incentives and perks provided, and not worrying about the bigger picture for the organization. But some people want to change the world.

Understanding which category you fall in will be the first filter while selecting a job. And organizations will have to set their policies depending on what kind of people they want to get on board.