Skip to content
Product cover

What It Takes to Make 'Star' Hires Pay Off

January 1, 2010 | Boris Groysberg, Linda-Eling Lee, Robin Abrahams | Workplace, Teams, & Culture
The current economic recession has provided managers with a tempting environment for acquiring "star" employees on the cheap. But the track record of such acquisitions of human capital has been mixed, with many companies failing to integrate their new talent. Apparently, an organization can't just hire star employees and then expect those individuals to automatically shine in their new environment. But how, then, can companies ensure that they get the most out of the talent they hire?

The authors have found that, to build a top-notch organization of star employees, companies can't simply hire the best and brightest and then turn those individuals loose into a Darwinian competition. Instead, organizations need to provide and maintain the right environment for those employees to flourish. And that means avoiding a number of common pitfalls, such as falling for the "lone-star myth" (companies often mistakenly believe that one individual can single-handedly turn around an entire department or organization), overestimating the importance of pay (businesses frequently overpay for hiring top talent), allowing stars to go solo (high achievers are over-scheduled almost by definition, so managers should never assume that collaboration will "just happen"), focusing too narrowly on a single department or group (stars need top colleagues throughout the organization in order to do their best work) and neglecting homegrown talent.
Purchase Options

Educator and Student Discounts Available. Learn more »

  BENCHMARKS  
Loading Time: Base Classes  0.0007
My Controller Construct  0.0003
Build Nav  0.0006
Controller Execution Time ( Products / Route )  0.0730
Total Execution Time  0.0738
  GET DATA  
No GET data exists
  MEMORY USAGE  
1.5673 MB
  POST DATA  
No POST data exists
  URI STRING  
store/what-it-takes-to-make-star-hires-pay-off
  CLASS/METHOD  
products/route
  DATABASE:  MITSLOAN_DEV   QUERIES: 68  (Hide)
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0006  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0012  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0023  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0009  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0014  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0005  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0006  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0008  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0006  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  '7ae736d64cdfd94fe16008d734959e60'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0003  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS cat_id
FROM (`product_categories`)
WHERE `status_id` =  'A'
AND `url_friendly` =  'what-it-takes-to-make-star-hires-pay-off'
AND `parent_id` =  1 
0.0047  

SELECT c.parent_id, c.format_id
                    FROM products AS p, products AS c
                    WHERE p.prod_id = c.parent_id AND
                        c.avail_id IN ('A','B','D') AND
                        c.type_id = 'V' AND
                        (
                            c.sku = 'what-it-takes-to-make-star-hires-pay-off' OR
                            if(c.format_id = 'Certificate', '', p.url_friendly) = 'what-it-takes-to-make-star-hires-pay-off'
                        )
                    LIMIT 1 
0.0013  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  813 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '813' 
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '813'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0002  

SELECT `cat_id`
FROM (`product_categories__products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '813' 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`product_flags__products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '813' 
0.0001  

SELECT `sku`
FROM (`products__xsell`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '813'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0257  

SELECT `products`.`parent_id`
FROM (`transaction_lines`)
JOIN `products` ON `products`.`sku` = `transaction_lines`.`sku`
JOIN `product_categories__products` ON `products`.`parent_id` = `product_categories__products`.`prod_id`
WHERE `products`.`avail_id` =  'A'
AND TO_DAYS(transaction_lines.updated_at) < (TO_DAYS(NOW()) - 90)
AND `product_categories__products`.`cat_id` IN ('244') 
GROUP BY `products`.`parent_id`
ORDER BY COUNT(*) DESC
LIMIT 6 
0.0002  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '431' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '431' 
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '431'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '825' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '825' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '825'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '4029' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '4029' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '4029'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0002  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '439' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '439' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '439'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '3579' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '3579' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '3579'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '3511' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '3511' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '3511'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0003  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS media_id, position
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `foreign_key_table` =  'products'
AND `foreign_key_column` =  'prod_id'
AND `foreign_key_value` =  '813'
AND `kind` =  'image_600x600'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `media`.`media_id` =  '395' 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`mime_types`)
WHERE `mime_types`.`extension` =  'jpg' 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`media_metadata`)
WHERE `media_id` =  '395' 
0.0002  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS media_id, position
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `foreign_key_table` =  'products'
AND `foreign_key_column` =  'prod_id'
AND `foreign_key_value` =  '813'
AND `kind` =  'gallery_image'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `avail_id` IN ('A', 'B', 'C', 'H') 
AND `parent_id` =  '813'
AND `type_id` =  'V'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position`, `title` 
0.0001  

SELECT `c`.`format_id`, `c`.`price`, `c`.`sale_price`
FROM (`products` AS c)
WHERE `c`.`prod_id` =  '814'
LIMIT 1 
0.0003  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS media_id, position
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `foreign_key_table` =  'products'
AND `foreign_key_column` =  'prod_id'
AND `foreign_key_value` =  '814'
AND `kind` =  'thumbnail'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0004  

SELECT `product_categories__products`.`cat_id`
FROM (`product_categories__products`)
JOIN `product_categories` ON `product_categories__products`.`cat_id` = `product_categories`.`cat_id`
WHERE `product_categories__products`.`prod_id` =  '813'
AND `product_categories`.`parent_id` =  1
AND `product_categories__products`.`cat_id` NOT IN (1, 261)  
0.0004  

SELECT `cat_id` AS id, `parent_id` AS parent, `status_id`, `name`, `description`, `url_friendly`, `page_title`, `meta_keywords`, `meta_description`, `position`, `updated_at`
FROM (`product_categories`)
WHERE `cat_id` != 1
ORDER BY `parent_id`, IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position`, `name` 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`product_categories`)
WHERE `status_id` =  'A'
AND `parent_id` =  1
AND `cat_id` NOT IN (1, 261) 
ORDER BY `name` 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`site_settings`)
WHERE `option_key` =  'announcement' 
  HTTP HEADERS  (Show)
  SESSION DATA  (Show)
  CONFIG VARIABLES  (Show)