# Bayer ditched sales targets. Accountability got harder.

> A pharmaceutical giant replaced rigid sales numbers with outcome ownership, revealing how metrics shape behavior in ways leaders don't expect.
- Title: Bayer ditched sales targets. Accountability got harder. · Inc
- Summary: A pharmaceutical giant replaced rigid sales numbers with outcome ownership, revealing how metrics shape behavior in ways leaders don't expect. Accountability…
- Keywords: bayer pharmaceuticals, sales targets, accountability, management systems, sebastian guth, dynamic shared ownership, nubeqa, prostate cancer treatment, incentive structures, organizational behavior, performance metrics, Bayer
- Source: Inc — https://inc.com/scott-hutcheson/bayer-stopped-chasing-sales-targets-accountability-did-not-disappear/91405492
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: bayer pharmaceuticals, sales targets, accountability, management systems, sebastian guth, dynamic shared ownership, nubeqa, prostate cancer treatment, incentive structures, organizational behavior, performance metrics
## Bayer stopped defending numbers
The pharmaceutical company eliminated traditional sales targets for regions and countries, even though financial goals remained. Leaders now decide where resources create the most value instead of protecting a predetermined budget.
## Targets shape behavior in hidden ways
When rewards tie to hitting a negotiated number, rational managers protect that number. They lower expectations, delay revenue, or hoard resources. None requires dishonesty, but all reduce what the organization could accomplish.

> Tying compensation to budget targets rewards people for gaming the process.
## Bayer replaced one system with another
Removing targets only worked because Bayer implemented Dynamic Shared Ownership, which organizes teams around shared outcomes, moves decisions closer to the work, and uses 90-day cycles to act, learn, and redirect.
## Nubeqa showed the approach working
Bayer's prostate cancer drug achieved blockbuster status five months early. The U.S. team launched a contract sales force for veterans in 45 days, then disbanded it after achieving its purpose, showing flexible resource allocation.
## Outcome ownership demands more judgment
Hitting a fixed number lets managers declare victory. Owning an outcome requires constant judgment about what's possible, what evidence shows, and whether resources are in the right place. That is harder accountability, not less.
## Audit the incentives you create
Managers don't need to eliminate sales targets to improve. Ask: if a smart employee optimized perfectly for this metric, would the behavior produce the outcome we want? Separate forecasts from aspirations and evaluate decisions alongside results.
## Key takeaway

Accountability means owning the choices that determine what your organization can accomplish now, not defending a number negotiated months ago.