The offer manages to make everyone involved a little happier: Departing employees leave happy because of the check. Zappos’s execs are happy because they avoid the far more expensive prospect of managing people who aren’t a good fit. Even the employees who turn down the offer are happier. They’ve put a stake in the ground—“I’d rather be here than take the money”—in a way that feels good. Why is this offer, an artificial choice inserted into the training regimen, so effective at separating good hires from bad ones?
