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StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective – No Free Lunch

There exists a pervasive and ongoing belief among many that government has the power to eliminate hardship and create prosperity for everyone. Nothing, of course, could be farther from the truth.


“You don’t make the poor richer by making the rich poorer.”

Winston Churchill
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
(1940-45, 51-55)
and Nobel Laureate (literature)


The following video is that of a lecture made by Nobel Laureate and Economist Milton Friedman. In his discussion, Dr. Friedman illustrates why there is no free lunch, why no combination of government programs can simultaneously create wealth and prosperity for all individuals. Thus, when government spends money, it is always at someone’s expense. He goes on the dispel the myth that corporations pay taxes of any sort and how continuing such policies further injures the economy and employees.

Dr. Friedman’s assertions are not political but are instead based on sound economic theory and real-world experiences. These principles equally apply to organizations to the extent that compensation, benefits, privilege, and authority are proffered in a manner inconsistent with the value contribution of the individual.

StrategyDriven Recommended Practices

Highly accountable organizations benefit from the premise that there is no free lunch. Executives, managers, supervisors, and individual contributors are held accountable for their actions and contributes both positively and negatively. StrategyDriven leaders should therefore take the actions necessary to create and promote accountability throughout their organization. At a high level, these actions include:

  1. Clearly defining the organization’s mission in terms of quantifiable goals and values
  2. Broadly communicate the organization’s mission and values
  3. Cascading these mission goals into a performance metric system that establishes the results to be achieved at each level of the organization and ultimately by each employee
  4. Codify the individual level performance metrics and organizational values within position descriptions, observation programs, and individual performance goals
  5. Award organizational positions based on individual knowledge, skills, experience, contributions, and adherence to the organization’s values
  6. Establish a compensation and benefits program that equitably distributes rewards based on an individual’s value contribution and adherence to the organization’s values
  7. Provide continuous, ongoing feedback and coaching to both reinforce the achievement of the organization’s goals in a manner consistent with its values and to further develop personnel and improve performance

“Organizational accountability exists when all members of the workforce individually and collectively act to consequentially promote the timely accomplishment of the organization’s mission.”

StrategyDriven Contributors


Additional Information

StrategyDriven believes the practice of ‘no free lunch’ reflects an organizational commitment to praise-worthy values. Leaders seeking to infuse their organization with such beliefs are supported by the tools presented in our principle, best practice, and warning flag articles within the following topics:

StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective – Socialization of Medical Care

The socialization of medicine is not a new discussion. Indeed, government involvement in healthcare has increased for decades. Regardless of the noble intentions of those desiring ‘healthcare for all,’ economics reveals that in the end everyone suffers.

The following video is that of a lecture made by Nobel Laureate and Economist Milton Friedman. In his discussion, Dr. Friedman reveals how government involvement in the healthcare system will necessarily diminishes care and the industry’s prosperity. By extension, Dr. Friedman illustrates how prosperity is similarly destroyed in any industry in which the government becomes heavily involved.

Dr. Friedman’s assertions are not political. His point of view is founded on sound analysis of the socialization of medicine in other countries.

The purpose of this editorial is not to suggest a specific course of action. Instead it’s purpose is to suggest a need to closely monitor the level of government involvement within your industry and to consider the propensity for involvement as a risk to your business’s future.

StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective – Here we go again… more government created uncertainty

As we enter this last week of September, America faces another looming government shutdown. The continuing resolution that currently funds the Federal government’s activities expires at 11:59 pm the evening of September 30 – the end of the last day of the government’s fiscal year. Republicans and Democrats have once again dug in to their partisan positions; creating an uncertainty regarding the operation of our government institutions, the funding of programs, and the paying of social security, veteran benefits and military salaries.

StrategyDriven has long maintained that politicians are primarily responsible for the great uncertainty hindering economic expansion and prosperity – and we believe history supports our assertion. The following video is that of a lecture made by Nobel Laureate and Economist Milton Friedman. In his discussion, Dr. Friedman reveals how the government, and in particular the Federal Reserve, was largely responsible for the Great Depression. He goes on to illustrate how Federal Reserve actions also caused the hyper inflation experienced in the late 1970s.

The purpose of this editorial is not to suggest a specific course of action. Instead it’s purpose is to suggest a need to closely monitor the government’s fiscal policies and to draw from historical perspectives how those policies may impact our economy and your business’s future.

Leadership Inspirations – Intentions versus Results

“One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results”

Milton Friedman

Recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the National Medal of Science