Harik: An 'A player' is someone whose resignation causes immediate dread
Mario Harik · The Magic of Thinking Big | XPO CEO Mario Harik · Apr 14, 2026 · at 1:00:12
Mario Harik, CEO of freight transportation company XPO, explains a managerial thought experiment learned from founder Brad Jacobs to evaluate talent density and categorize employees.
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“If an A player walks into your office and say, Mario, you know what? I don't try to talk me out of it. Maybe my wife is moving to a different state and I, you know, I took a job with another company and You know, don't try to talk me out of it. This is done. If the outcome out of that is feeling that you have a pit in your stomach, that you go back home, you're talking to your wife and say, I don't know what I'm going to do. I just heard the most horrible news today. And if it's a feeling of angst, it's a feeling of, I'm sure I'm going to replace that person. That's an A player. If somebody walks into your office and they say, hey Mario, don't try to talk me out of it. I'm actually, I find another role in another company, and I'm going to move on to a different industry maybe. And your feeling is, whew, that's good news. Actually, we're going to be able to upgrade talent. We're going to be able to, this is going to be great. We'll figure out the transition plan. That's a C player.”
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