But for poorer countries that jockey for position nearer the foot of the table, money as well as pride is at stake.
His tenure at Manchester United provides the clearest demonstration that in the big business with diminishing returns that is the top of the Premier League table, money allows a club to compete for the titles but it is the manager that enables the club to win them repeatedly.
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In this case from collegiate sports, a collection of schools with like-minded philosophical and academic missions have opted to leave money on the table and receive less media money initially in order to protect the long-term legacy of their brand value of their conference name.
People who stay purely on the other side of the table from the money side over multiple projects are becoming rare.
When you are negotiating, I recommend ensuring that the person across the table makes some money too, even if you have more leverage.
As Daniel Pink has so compellingly argued in Drive: the Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, once the issue of compensation is off the table, more money does not cause us to work harder, longer or more efficiently.
"Manchester United continue to successfully leverage their global brand, " he said following the publishing of the annual Football Money League table.
But is it time to take money off the table, or will the party rage on?
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After the buy-in plan is public, Wall Street doesn't leave much money on the table.
Those who don't bet on him "leave a lot of money on the table, " he says.
These people need to take some money off the table and spread the winnings around.
Ipesup is also judged by metrics, but expelling underperforming students means leaving money on the table.
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However, the unacceptable alternative is to simply walk away leaving money on the table.
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Retail investors have exited the trade, taking their very pessimistic money off the table.
But in the process, Microsoft is leaving a big pile of money on the table.
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It took a few years, but Chu eventually realized she was leaving real money on the table.
Equity trading volumes are down as the players take their money off the table and park it.
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Facebook has tried in the past to help employees who want to take some money off the table.
And publishers like Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive are leaving all of that potential money on the table.
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The bottom line appears to be that Apple is indeed leaving money on the table in the short-term.
"You may leave a lot of money on the table, but you will also avoid sinkholes, " he says.
"We were leaving a lot of money on the table, " says Russell Glass, vice president of products and marketing.
"A stock with gains this big leave people wondering when to take their money off the table, " Bachman said.
By mid-March, Greek Premier Papandreou was clamoring openly for Europe to reassure markets by putting money on the table.
The CFO believes that the purchasing manager is leaving money on the table.
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We at LinkedIn were criticized for leaving too much money on the table.
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Failure to resolve the obstacles that keep women from these roles means executives are leaving money on the table.
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And it discourages employees from using the accounts in the first place for fear of leaving money on the table.
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