I always assumed A player meant worked 60-100 hrs per week, but they expected you(not directly) to write 40-50 on your times sheet. And only paid for 30. But, don't worry your changing the world.
Some of my best people work a 30 solid ( dense ) hour week. Those are heads down, no distraction hours. No Facebook, no podcasts, just technical design and code. I don't enforce it, they just do it on their own. As long as they deliver, I want them out of the office, into the gym, outside, whatever the fuck they want, so they don't burn out.
And I'm happy with it because they always stretch and deliver, on time. And their code is tight, thoughtful and consequently maintainable.
As for finding people who exhibit those qualities. I ask them to solve a problem and see how their mind works. If it's thorough, thinking about error handling, documentation, etc., then that's a winner. I then use their Github code to determine seniority and go from there.
Ironically those with the most hunger and passion to learn and excel did not go to top-tier schools. It doesn't take much to figure out why.
By creating a new innovative way to deliver ads to consumers.
(Sure, word-of-mouth is a form of advertisement, but OP clearly refers to the ad industry, so I'm going with that meaning.)
http://timharford.com/2018/05/how-much-would-i-have-to-pay-y...
- reverse causation fallacy: People who change the world (scientists, big entrepreneurs, politicians) often work a lot of overtime. Since I work overtime, I must be changing the world.
- cognitive dissonance: Surely I wouldn't be working overtime if my work weren't important!