Puzzle: who wins this dart game?
Alice and Bob play the following game with their friend Charlie. Charlie begins the game by secretly picking a spot on the dartboard. The spot can be anywhere on the board, but once picked it does not change. Then Alice and Bob each get to throw one dart at the board. At this ...

$10 if you guess who will be fired next – boss demonstrates how not to motivate employees
There are proper ways to use incentives to motivate employees. I have written about how incentives can help improve productivity and even reduce employee theft. Then there are the abysmal incentives that are dreamt up by sadistic bosses. This week there were news reports of a boss who made a contest ...

A really bad way to look for a job
I saw this sign on a payphone when I was waiting at the Mountain View Caltrain station. I know the job market is tough, but you're really in trouble if your best option is placing a free call at a train station payphone. I dialed the number for fun, and it sent ...

Situations Matter — Book Review
An introductory story Before I get to the book review, I want to tell a short story. My friend's office had a problem. There were many times that clients would call, and no one would pick up the phone. The boss yelled at everyone for being irresponsible. But were the employees really ...

Game theory quiz: efficient scheduling
The other day I was running errands when I suddenly realized I needed to visit my bank. The issue was the time was 5:02pm, and I was not sure if my bank was open or if it had closed for the day. I was debating whether to take a few minutes to ...

Monday puzzle: train station pickup
This is a fun little puzzle about commuting from the train station. Mr. Smith, a commuter, is picked up each day at the train station at exactly 5 o'clock. One day he arrived at the train station unannounced at 4 o'clock and began to walk home. Eventually he met the chauffeur ...