[dreamcompiler]

> being very selective about employee number 2-49. After that it's out of your hands.

Indeed. There's an old saying that A-level people hire A-level people, but B-level people hire C-level people.

Obviously this is too simplistic: How do any B-level people get there in the first place? But there's still some truth to the idea that the overall talent level of a company tends to degrade as it gets larger unless very unusual structures are in place to work against that tendency.

[jtbayly]

The saying I’ve heard is about students, but similar enough and different enough o quote here:

“The A students work for the B students and the C students become federal judges.”

[NoMoreNicksLeft]

That's just a plain scaling issue, isn't it though? Eventually, the supply of A-level people dries up, no matter the compensation offered. If growth is to continue, B-level people must be hired.

[dreamcompiler]

Yes A-level people are rare and expensive. The mistake I see too often is companies not focusing on keeping their core revenue-generating team A-level. Put the B-level people in support roles. When you dilute the core revenue team with B- and C-level people, the As tend to leave and then you're in big trouble.

[crmd]

The quote is from Steve Jobs and is absolutely true. As soon as the first bozo infects your team, they will start hiring other bozos, and after a while your org has regressed to the mean. Therefore you should hold a ridiculously high bar for hiring. A temporarily empty seat is preferable to a non-A player.

[CaptainOfCoit]

> If growth is to continue

Maybe this is the crux of the issue.

[NoMoreNicksLeft]

For a small company, for one still trying to find its business model, growth is absolutely necessary. The alternative is lost investment, and everyone out of work.