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And do you think these same companies are just as efficient as identifying who's slacking off? I don't think so.

They may know that 10% of the company is slacking off, but they often end up amputating a hand when they meant to just trim the fingernails.

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A cynical manager who knows his employer periodically clears out 10% dead weight would keep some dead weight around, so they could deliver the cut without losing the guys they need.

A very common approach is giving every front-line leader the 10% target, rather than trying to actually trim the actual bottom 10% from a performance standpoint. Results are as you would imagine.

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