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I'm seriously put off by any talk of topgrading and 'a/b/c player' ranking.

Have you gathered much data on the success of this book's approach in your firm? I'd love to hear a positive take on it.

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Agreed. I think anyone can be an "A" player under the right conditions. Under different conditions, the same person can be a "D" player. I know I've had jobs were I was the wonderboy who was regarded as an A player all around. I've had other jobs where I was the black sheep "F" player who gets fired after one week of employment.

First commenter's co-founder here: Sure, you definitely need to screen for culture fit. There are great people who would be bad fits here. That said, we want people who have succeed in most positions they've had in the past. If there are two people who have had 4 jobs in their career, you're way more likely to pick the better if you favor the one who outperformed in 3 of those 4 jobs rather than 1 of the 4. When you combine that with looking closely at their experience as it fits with the role, and their fit with the culture, then you have a complete screening process.

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