--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pay unfairly: Your best people are better…" description: "\"“Pay unfairly: Your best people are better than you think, and worth more than you pay them In”\" — Laszlo Bock" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/laszlo-bock-11604_unfairly_pay-unfairly-your-best-people-are-better_768329.jpg" --- # Pay unfairly: Your best people are better than you think… ![“Pay unfairly: Your best people are better than you think, and worth more than you pay them In” quote by Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/laszlo-bock-11604_unfairly_pay-unfairly-your-best-people-are-better_768329.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/laszlo-bock-11604_unfairly_pay-unfairly-your-best-people-are-better_768329.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/laszlo-bock-11604_unfairly_pay-unfairly-your-best-people-are-better_768329.jpg) > ““Pay unfairly: Your best people are better than you think, and worth more than you pay them In”” [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognizing that top employees often exceed expectations and deserve higher compensation than they currently receive. **In simple terms:** Great workers are undervalued. Key Takeaway Pay talent fairly. Themes fairness leadership compensation Mood thoughtful pragmatic Type advisory business When to use this quote - salary negotiations - performance reviews - talent retention - budget planning Key Concepts human resources value perception motivation Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance fair pay with financial constraints? - What metrics best reflect an employee’s true value? A Different Perspective Higher pay may strain budgets and create equity issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pay Unfairly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay-unfairly-4240178/) [People Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-better-248725/) [Unfairly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfairly/) [Unfairly Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfairly-best-5944890/) [Worth Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worth-pay-1073139/) ## Related quotes > [“If your best person is worth ten of the average people, you must pay “unfairly.” Otherwise, you’re just giving them a reason to quit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/if-your-best-person-is-worth-ten-of-the-average-people-you-must-pay/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [“Pay unfairly. Celebrate accomplishment, not compensation. Make it easy to spread the love. Reward thoughtful failure. A”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/pay-unfairly-celebrate-accomplishment-not-compensation-make-it-easy/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [A good folly is worth what you pay for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/a-good-folly-is-worth-what-you-pay-for-it/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [A work of art is worth what someone will pay for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-archer/a-work-of-art-is-worth-what-someone-will-pay-for-it/) [Jeffrey Archer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-archer/) > [A friend you have to buy won't be worth what you pay for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-friend-you-have-to-buy-won-t-be-worth-what-you-pay-for-him/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most of what we acquire materially is found to not be worth what we must pay spiritually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyd-k-packer/most-of-what-we-acquire-materially-is-found-to-not-be-worth-what-we/) [Boyd K. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyd-k-packer/) > [A good jolly is worth what you pay for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/a-good-jolly-is-worth-what-you-pay-for-it/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [Advice is worth what you pay for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/advice-is-worth-what-you-pay-for-it/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [People often ask me if I can justify the amount I earn, and I say I get paid that much because someone thinks it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-mcrae/people-often-ask-me-if-i-can-justify-the-amount-i-earn-and-i-say-i/) [Colin McRae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-mcrae/) > [I'm not a professional political analyst, so my political analysis is worth about what you pay for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharyl-attkisson/i-m-not-a-professional-political-analyst-so-my-political-analysis-is/) [Sharyl Attkisson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharyl-attkisson/) > [Anything free is worth what you pay for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/anything-free-is-worth-what-you-pay-for-it/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Figure out what something is worth and pay a lot less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-greenblatt/figure-out-what-something-is-worth-and-pay-a-lot-less/) [Joel Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-greenblatt/) > [“How can you tell if you have found someone exceptional? My simple rule of thumb—and the second big change to make in how you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/how-can-you-tell-if-you-have-found-someone-exceptional-my-simple-rule/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [President Clinton not only benefits by gay and lesbian votes, but he benefits by showing the nation that he is a strong leader who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mixner/president-clinton-not-only-benefits-by-gay-and-lesbian-votes-but-he/) [David Mixner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mixner/) > [As opposed to getting into arguments about, well, these folks have been treated fairly so now we're going to be doing things that, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/as-opposed-to-getting-into-arguments-about-well-these-folks-have-been/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Laszlo Bock > [“The biggest lesson was that rewarding smart failure was vital to support a culture of risk-taking. Chris”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/the-biggest-lesson-was-that-rewarding-smart-failure-was-vital-to/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [“A learning organization starts with a recognition that all of us want to grow and to help others grow. Yet in many organizations, employees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/a-learning-organization-starts-with-a-recognition-that-all-of-us-want/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [“The best predictor of how someone will perform in a job is a work sample test (29 percent).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/the-best-predictor-of-how-someone-will-perform-in-a-job-is-a-work/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [“We’ve found that trusting people to do the right thing generally results in them doing the right thing. Allowing people to reward one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/we-ve-found-that-trusting-people-to-do-the-right-thing-generally/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [“Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast” If you give people freedom, they will amaze you I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/culture-eats-strategy-for-breakfast-if-you-give-people-freedom-they/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [“Having goals improves performance.113 Spending hours cascading goals up and down the company, however, does not.114”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/having-goals-improves-performance-113-spending-hours-cascading-goals/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [“You can’t understand Google… unless you know that both Larry and Sergey were Montessori kids.”22 This teaching environment is tailored to a child’s learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/you-can-t-understand-google-unless-you-know-that-both-larry-and/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [“What managers miss is that every time they give up a little control, it creates a wonderful opportunity for their team to step up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/what-managers-miss-is-that-every-time-they-give-up-a-little-control/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [“Managers aren’t bad people. But each of us is susceptible to the conveniences and small thrills of power. At”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/managers-aren-t-bad-people-but-each-of-us-is-susceptible-to-the/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [“A billion hours ago, modern Homo sapiens emerged. A billion minutes ago, Christianity began. A billion seconds ago, the IBM personal computer was released.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/a-billion-hours-ago-modern-homo-sapiens-emerged-a-billion-minutes-ago/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [“You obviously want to hire the best people, but “best” isn’t defined by a single attribute like intelligence or expertise. As”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/you-obviously-want-to-hire-the-best-people-but-best-isn-t-defined-by/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [“If you believe people are good, you must be unafraid to share information with them Transparency”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/if-you-believe-people-are-good-you-must-be-unafraid-to-share/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [“A newly hired person actually destroys value.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/a-newly-hired-person-actually-destroys-value/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [“Pay unfairly. Celebrate accomplishment, not compensation. Make it easy to spread the love. Reward thoughtful failure. A”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/pay-unfairly-celebrate-accomplishment-not-compensation-make-it-easy/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) > [G.P.A.’s are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless. We found that they don’t predict anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/g-p-a-s-are-worthless-as-a-criteria-for-hiring-and-test-scores-are/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) [Explore all 59 Laszlo Bock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) ## More Unfairly quotes > [As opposed to getting into arguments about, well, these folks have been treated fairly so now we're going to be doing things that, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/as-opposed-to-getting-into-arguments-about-well-these-folks-have-been/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [President Clinton not only benefits by gay and lesbian votes, but he benefits by showing the nation that he is a strong leader who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mixner/president-clinton-not-only-benefits-by-gay-and-lesbian-votes-but-he/) [David Mixner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mixner/) > [Forgiveness is taking seriously the awfulness of what has happened when you are treated unfairly. Forgiveness is not pretending that things are other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/forgiveness-is-taking-seriously-the-awfulness-of-what-has-happened/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I'm not a single-issue person, but I spend so much time on Israel because it is so unfairly condemned around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/i-m-not-a-single-issue-person-but-i-spend-so-much-time-on-israel/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [I've never known a man to be beaten fairly, nor one to be elected, unfairly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ellis/i-ve-never-known-a-man-to-be-beaten-fairly-nor-one-to-be-elected/) [Anne Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ellis/) > [I know I am judged unfairly by my physical characteristics and ostracized because of that so I say, "Yes, I'm a black man."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-d/i-know-i-am-judged-unfairly-by-my-physical-characteristics-and/) [Chuck D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-d/) > [Beware of the temptation to see yourself as unfairly treated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/beware-of-the-temptation-to-see-yourself-as-unfairly-treated/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [What's awesome about the Internet is how it breaks up monopolistic markets where middlemen unfairly gobble up outsized fees, leaving us little choice but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/what-s-awesome-about-the-internet-is-how-it-breaks-up-monopolistic/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [Let me say the good are often punished unfairly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-rinaldi/let-me-say-the-good-are-often-punished-unfairly/) [Ann Rinaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-rinaldi/) > [“If you’re a matcher, you’ll also punish takers for acting unfairly toward other people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-m-grant/if-you-re-a-matcher-you-ll-also-punish-takers-for-acting-unfairly/) [Adam M. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-m-grant/) > [I am starting think that I am unfairly fortunate. I hope that life doesn't catch up to me and a row of terrible things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-rae-jepsen/i-am-starting-think-that-i-am-unfairly-fortunate-i-hope-that-life/) [Carly Rae Jepsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-rae-jepsen/) > [Navient/Sallie Mae treated student loan borrowers unfairly from start to finish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-madigan/navient-sallie-mae-treated-student-loan-borrowers-unfairly-from-start/) [Lisa Madigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-madigan/) > [You don't usually get treated unfairly. You usually get what you deserve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-murphy/you-don-t-usually-get-treated-unfairly-you-usually-get-what-you/) [Dale Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-murphy/) > [Any time I saw people treated unfairly because of race, creed, whatever - it struck a nerve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-redford/any-time-i-saw-people-treated-unfairly-because-of-race-creed-whatever/) [Robert Redford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-redford/) > [I never ever felt that I was unfairly treated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/i-never-ever-felt-that-i-was-unfairly-treated/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) [Browse all 34 Unfairly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfairly/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Pay unfairly: Your best people are better than you think, and worth more than you pay them In”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Laszlo Bock" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/pay-unfairly-your-best-people-are-better-than-you-think-and-worth/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Unfairly" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/pay-unfairly-your-best-people-are-better-than-you-think-and-worth/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/laszlo-bock-11604_unfairly_pay-unfairly-your-best-people-are-better_768329.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/laszlo-bock-11604_unfairly_pay-unfairly-your-best-people-are-better_768329.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/laszlo-bock-11604_unfairly_pay-unfairly-your-best-people-are-better_768329.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Pay unfairly: Your best people are better than you think, and worth more than you pay them In” — Laszlo Bock", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Laszlo Bock", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Pay unfairly: Your best people are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/pay-unfairly-your-best-people-are-better-than-you-think-and-worth/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/pay-unfairly-your-best-people-are-better-than-you-think-and-worth/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```