“One Great is Equal to Three Good”

In an interview with Adam Bryant that appeared in the New York Times, March 14, 2010, Kip Tindell, CEO of the Container Store shared one of his foundation principles, “… that one great person could easily be as productive as three good people. One great is equal to three good. If you really believe that, a lot of things happen. We try to pay 50 to 100 percent above industry average. That’s good for the employee, and that’s good for the customer, but it’s good for the company, too, because you get three times the productivity at only two times the labor cost.”

Your organization may not be on par with the Container Store but think of your current situation. Are you absolutely certain that everyone is contributing to their full potential? If not, you probably have some people rowing harder to make up for those who aren’t rowing at all. It’s not fun, it’s not fair and it’s not very profitable. And, guess who leaves the boat first? It’s not the people who’ve been watching the rowers. It’s the rowers who leave the boat first. They have more options. They’ll go where rowers are appreciated and rewarded. And, when they leave, you’re left with the non-rowers.

Use the People Analyzer™ to quickly assess whether or not your people are adding value. If they’re not, it’s an issue. When you resolve that issue you move closer to “One great is equal to three good”.