Don't hold elite performers to the same activity metrics as the rest of the team. Instead, grant them autonomy while explicitly stating they are not exempt from being a team player. This builds trust and respect, allowing them to focus on results without undermining team morale.

Actively encouraging employees to 'break things' risks normalizing the violation of fundamental rules. A safer and more productive approach is to encourage employees to reflect on and challenge existing rules. This creates a space to identify and improve rules that are no longer fit for purpose without promoting chaos.

Accountability isn't just for underperformers. By helping top reps analyze and understand the specific actions driving their success, you can help them systematize their process and scale their performance, rather than letting them merely coast on hitting their existing quota.

Transitioning from a top-performing rep requires a mindset shift from doing to enabling. A new leader's role is not to teach their specific 'Michael Jordan' method, but to align company and personal goals, then focus on removing obstacles for each team member's unique path to success.

Don't finalize a comp plan in an executive silo. Share the draft with trusted, top-performing reps and ask them to break it. They will immediately spot loopholes and unintended incentives, allowing you to create a more robust plan that drives the right behaviors from day one.

You don't have the right to innovate on a feature until you have deeply studied and understood every existing, successful implementation. Pincus demanded his PMs become the world's leading experts on a feature (e.g., game profiles) before they were allowed to propose changes.

An accountability culture is immediately broken the moment a top performer gets a pass on behaviors or processes required of everyone else. Leaders must choose between a true accountability culture or a "top performance culture" that explicitly has different rules.

Gusto's CTO recognized his team's "no docs" method succeeded because his co-founder status gave him implicit permission to break rules. To scale this, leaders can't just allow new methods; they must explicitly forbid old ones, telling teams, "you will get a slap on the wrist if you produce a doc."

Instead of forcing top salespeople into team-wide training, let them opt out. A leader's primary job with elite performers is to remove obstacles by providing resources like an assistant or better software. Don't waste their time or yours; just get out of their way.