[paulcole]

The Rock Star will say, “I will do these 10 things by next Friday.” And then next Friday rolls around and 8 of them are done. This repeats week after week, but I can never tell which 8 will get done. They’re boastful and proud that they got a lot done but the rest of the team can never count on them to get any specific thing done.

The other person will say “I will do these 5 things by next Friday.” And then next Friday all 5 are done. And they repeat this week after week after week.

Give me the second person every time.

[meneer_oke]

I agree with your scenario, but I wouldn't consider someone who consistently under-delivers a "rock star."

This is why defining terms is important. For me, a rockstar is a developer who is just further along, who likes to program in their own time, who reads Hacker News, and builds projects on the weekends. Within 5 years, that person will be much further ahead than the rest and will spot pitfalls, security, and performance issues simply because they have encountered them before. However, sharing that information could lead to that person being called a "rockstar" and problematic, hampering "progress".