I commented on a thread about attracting and retaining employees. The post was about Alphas. The original post began by defining Alphas as 'the most creative and ingenious employees' and inquired about 'feeding their hunger to innovate.'
I was reminded of the first pages of Chapter 13 on Effectiveness in 'The Essential Drucker: The Best of Sixty Years of Peter Drucker's Essential Writings on Management.' Drucker comments that 'there seems to be little correlation between a man's effectiveness and his intelligence, his imagination, or his knowledge.' Drucker reports knowing brilliant men that were ineffective. He defines 'highly effective plodders' as the folks that consistently get the job done with skill and pride.
He states 'Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge are essential resources, but only effectiveness converts them into results. By themselves, they only set limits to what can be attained.' (pp. 191-192)
It takes more than Alphas to accomplish these objectives in new product development (NPD).
I have found it much more enjoyable to be in the company of dependable folks that do their job will skill. This can include Alphas and the new guy in Shipping and Receiving and most everyone that adds value. Company characteristics such as the appropriate objectives and the appropriate training and learning, plus the appropriate company culture contribute much to long term sustainable competitive advantage.
I wonder if an organization could become significantly more effective by shedding those that are below the mean on team cooperation, collaboration, and skill.
There are plenty of ways to recruit Alphas but that strategy may not provide the most effective way to promote NPD, innovation, and growth.
