That's a fun read. The section on incentives is useful. But he idolizes Patterson , the National Cash Register guy? That guy was the Travis Kalanick of the late 19th century. "Politics is the art of marshalling hatreds". Munger was way ahead of his time there. "First-conclusion bias". Huge problem with cops. "It is not greed that drives the world, but envy" - cited to Warren Buffett. Hmm. He probably ran into too man…
Both Patterson and Travis Kalanick are exceptionally virtuous men by this value system. They were ruthless drivers of efficiency, willing to ignore any obstacles in the pursuit of making their businesses bigger and more profitable. Other adherents to this value system include Milton Friedman, Ayn Rand, Bill Gates, John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Steve Jobs, and Paul Graham.
By contrast, the dominant value system in America today is marked by different tenets: 1) the primary purpose of life - of which economic activity is only one facet - is self-fulfillment and emotional gratification 2) it is virtuous to pursue such goals for yourself as long as you don't interfere with other peoples' pursuit of such goals 3) rules and regulations exist to enforce #2 on behalf of the powerless, and those who break those rules are by definition evil and 4) the employee/employer relationship should be a partnership where the employer should provide purpose and direction in accord with the employee's value system, and in return the employee helps the employer accomplish their business goals. Interestingly, both the Left and the Right of an increasingly divided America subscribe to this value system, they just define "self fulfillment and emotional gratification" differently.
The two value systems aren't entirely at odds with each other, but they aim toward entirely different purposes, and so naturally they conflict at several points. When this happens, things that may be considered the height of virtue under one value system are morally abhorrent to another one.