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iQuestions Faculty, John D. Beckett 
 
 
Question: 
 
How do I manage trade off between performance and buy-in in a 
organization? 
 
Answer:  
 
You know, there is often a tension between a person’s commitment to 
an organization and their performance.  
 
Jack Welch, the former attorney of General Electric, used a great 
illustration, using a matrix with performance on one axis and buy in on 
the other, and in the first quadrant on that matrix, if a person didn’t 
buy-in and they were a poor performer, they were gone from the 
organization. 
 
On the other hand, if they had strong performance, but really weren’t 
buying into the organization, he said, “That person’s tactically gone. 
It’s just a matter of time.” 
 
But look at the person who may not have all of the performance, but 
they really are committed to the organization. He said, “We’ll work 
with that person, and develop them.”  
 
And of course you have the fourth quadrant, where you have 
somebody who is simultaneously buying in but also a strong 
performer. Those are the people who are your rising stars, and that 
you can build the future of the company on. 
 
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