Grow Your Stars — Don’t Buy Them

Summary: Grow Your Stars — Don’t Buy Them

1. Groom top-performers from the inside instead of looking for them on the outside.
   1. Companies often look to the outside for top-performers
   2. Buyers of outside top-performers beware.
   3. When top-performers moved from one company to another their performance declined.
   4. Being a top-performer is often not due to their ability but supporting functions – admin, IT, corporate culture, etc.
   5. To duplicate this at another firm requires trust which takes time to develop which explains under performance for a period of time that may span several years.
2. Systematically develop stars from within.
   1. Identify what skills and attributes that will be needed to join a department,
   2. Have a strong training and mentorship program (formal, informal).
   3. Take a person with raw talent and teach them how to engage with clients. how to produce and deliver a product desired by the market.
3. High performance companies communicate to top-performers what are the best practices to stay at the top.
   1. Companies need to be careful how they single out top-performers to not demotivate other performers in the organization.
   2. Top-performers are less likely (50% less likely) to leave the organization than other performers.
4. Employees do not leave companies, they leave managers and this is true for top-performers.
   1. Organizations transitioning managers have to be careful to not discourage top-performers.
   2. Under-performing organizations tend to loose top-performers than those who are regarded as high-performing.
5. The environment that the manager creates is most influential in what keeps top-performers.
   1. Top-performers who work in organizations with other top-performers are less likely to leave.
   2. Top-performers rely upon other top-performers or quality employees to deliver the product or service of the company and are less likely to leave and have to work with a lower quality support staff.