Tavel: Mediocre 'seven' employees kill companies by blocking top talent
Sarah Tavel · #113 Sarah Tavel: The Value of Intellectual Rigor · Jun 15, 2021 · at 26:31
Benchmark General Partner Sarah Tavel explains an organizational framework originating from LoudCloud about the hidden dangers of keeping mediocre performers.
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“And the thesis was is that sevens kill companies. And what that means is that, you know, when someone is a four, you just know they're not doing the job, they're not up for it, and let's, let's take them out of the system. But the problem with the seven Is that you don't get to that point because that person will have glimmers of being able to do the job. They'll, maybe they'll be super cultural carriers. They'll have these things that are redeeming, but because they have those things, two things happens. One, there's an opportunity cost of that seat, of course, like when someone that's a seven is holding the seat, it means that you don't have a nine having that seat. And two is that, and I see this all the time, Is that the execution of a team is often brought down by the weakest link. And so an entire team can be brought down by that seven.”
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