Myth #4: Quota is an employee management tool. Quota defines the minimum performance standard of an organization and the individual inside that organization. Managers place maximum emphasis on attaining quota. Therefore, when quota is used as a management tool, managers are placing maximum emphasis on minimum performance. The result is entirely predictable: the entire sales team aims at the minimum standard and seldom exceeds it.

Truth #4: Quota is a corporate measurement tool. Quota is simply what the organization needs to achieve in order to fulfill its goals. Quota has nothing to do with what the employee wants from his or her employment with the organization. It does not motivate, even when managers use it as a club to beat employees about the head and shoulders toward the end of the month.