Comments on: "A" players write the playbook

By: Vic Mahillon

Vic Mahillon — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:55:35 +0000

It’s amazing how so many people claim to be A players but the truth is this is a tremendously rare breed. It’s hard enough to find people who do their jobs well. These people are automatically B players at minimum. However, finding people who understand the status quo, but regularly have new visions to make it better, faster, stronger are legitimate A players. These are the types of people needed in dynamic start-ups. As a recruiter at OpenView Venture Partners, I’m always on the hunt for A talent and it definitely isn’t easy. However, these are the types of people who are absolutely essential to push a promising company forward. Great post – keep them coming!

By: Asher Bond

Asher Bond — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:59:46 +0000

I think the reason why this is is that employees need to attain value consciousness. The best way for an employee to go from B to A is to employ oneself and pay attention to the input/output relationship to learn value.

By: Asher Bond

Asher Bond — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:57:41 +0000

I thought I was an A player until I went to work for a startup in 1995, then I realized I was a B player. I didn’t really become an A player until after spending a few years at my own startup and writing the book.

By: Mike Faherty

Mike Faherty — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 23:45:54 +0000

This is a healthy reminder to not make excuses for your team. Either they will help the venture succeed and meet it’s potential or they will distract and slow the process down. I have been fortunate to have some A Players and even some F Players. How to handle these types is easy… it is the troublesome B and C Players that as leaders we waist the most time with. The line between B and C can get blurry and we can be persuaded to spend time coaching a C that you thought was a B. That always hurts. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.