> people follow incentives

Maybe the less they care about the company's overall goals and vision, the more they follow KPI:s and bonus incentives. When there seems to be no overall purpose and meaning anyway (except for making rich people richer?), then why not game the system?

But there can also be intrinsic motivation, just "unselfishlessly" doing what seems like good for the organization, if one likes its goal and reasons for existing.

Edit: You wrote: "significantly shifted my attitudes toward work, politics"

I wonder, how did this change how you thereafter did things at the workplace? (And politics somehow?)