[Verse 1]
When companies start small and lean
Everyone knows the bigger dream
But as they grow beyond their size
Something shifts before their eyes
The CEO wants profit high
Middle managers just survive
Each department has its own goal
Nobody sees the bigger whole
[Chorus]
Principal-agent, interests divide
What the owners want gets pushed aside
Agents respond to what they see
Not the company's destiny
Structural gaps, not moral flaws
Everyone follows their own cause
Principal-agent, can't align
When the incentives don't combine
[Verse 2]
Sarah runs the sales division
Bonuses based on her decision
Quarter targets drive her team
Long-term health's not in the scheme
Meanwhile Tom in quality control
Wants perfection as his goal
Slowing down to check each part
While sales are falling off the chart
[Chorus]
Principal-agent, interests divide
What the owners want gets pushed aside
Agents respond to what they see
Not the company's destiny
Structural gaps, not moral flaws
Everyone follows their own cause
Principal-agent, can't align
When the incentives don't combine
[Bridge]
It's not about dishonesty
It's rational strategy
When your bonus depends on speed
Why would you plant a long-term seed?
Information flows upward slow
Middle layers filter what they know
By the time it reaches the top
The warning signs have come to stop
[Verse 3]
Government agencies too
Face this problem through and through
Citizens want results that last
But budgets reward spending fast
Bureaucrats play it safe and sound
Innovation rarely found
Risk-averse beats taking chances
When failure hurts career advances
[Chorus]
Principal-agent, interests divide
What the owners want gets pushed aside
Agents respond to what they see
Not the company's destiny
Structural gaps, not moral flaws
Everyone follows their own cause
Principal-agent, can't align
When the incentives don't combine
[Outro]
Scale creates the great divide
Good intentions cast aside
Fix the structure, fix the game
Or the results stay the same
Principal-agent, understand
Why large organizations can't command
The loyalty they think they've earned
Until incentives are returned