High Performers Understand Incentives

High performers at companies like Amazon and Meta succeed partly because they understand the incentive structures that govern how work is rewarded. Rather than working on whatever feels important, they focus their energy on what is actually recognized and rewarded. If the incentives at your current company don't align with the work you care about, the practical advice is to find a different team or company rather than trying to change the system. Trying to play the game based on how you think incentives should work — rather than how they actually work — is a path to frustration or failure.