By Jacob Sunkel · Founder & Lead Strategist, PeaceMaker Labs
September 14, 2026 · 4 min read
What we celebrate, we incentivize.
Public life makes the point in plain sight. Celebrity faces get the billboard. Teachers, plumbers, high-voltage electricians, food-bank volunteers, and scientists do the work that keeps a town standing, and they rarely get the stage. The spotlight teaches the audience what counts.
The same rule runs a company. Celebrate the late-night rescue and people learn that rescue is the job. Celebrate a clean handoff, a decision someone else owned, and a week that did not need a hero, and people learn that the system is the job.
Look at what got praised in the last staff meeting. That is the incentive plan, whether or not it is written down. Book a 15-minute Peace Talk if the applause and the operating system are pointing in different directions.