When you are trying to sort out failing companies, is it smart to strive to make sure the best people won’t want to work there? 

Surely if ever there was a time for performance-linked reward schemes, this is it?

An executive who leads a company out of a deep hole and potentially saves the taxpayer billions maybe should be rewarded more than, say, a junior Premier League soccer player? Or someone who writes a book – no government cap there?

Or is this zany move OK but only as a transition measure to something else?