What if you could really clone your best people? Of course it’s what every manager secretly wishes they could do; it’s a heartfelt response to the bewildering array of complex talent ‘interventions’ and performance management initiatives that try to address what seems, to be a remarkably straightforward problem. “Take Bob,” they say, “he’s my best guy. I wish I had ten more like him. If you could just clone Bob for me, I’d be happy.”
the rise of the Roberts
So what if you really could do just that. Imagine for a moment Genes-R-Us; a rapidly growing life sciences company, constrained only by their ability to attract and retain the best people in the industry. After a crisis meeting of the board, Genes-R-Us takes the bold and innovative decision to solve it’s talent crisis by cloning their best guy. The choice of who to clone is easy; Bob is a brilliant young life scientist with an innate grasp of the technology an acute commercial focus and an obsessive attention to detail, he is the obvious candidate for this daring experiment.
Moving quickly, and in contravention of every known law on human experimentation, Genes-R-Us rapidly create and grow an entire new workforce of Bobs. At first, everything goes well and the new Bobs assimilate quickly. Bob finds he can communicate well with himself and analysis and consultation periods are dramatically reduced because Bob always agrees with what Bob thinks. The Bobs don’t waste time on unproductive debates about the best way to do things because Bob already knows the best way, and Bob’s deep technical capabilities and knowledge of the business lead to massive increases in productivity and profitability within the first few weeks.
Of course there are some unexpected side-effects; for example the Bobs always order the same soup-of-the-day from the canteen and then spend their entire lunch break talking about Star Trek (actually Bob always did this but no one would ever listen before). At first it’s just a little quirky but, gradually, the realization dawns that all is not quite right.
Despite the growth in production, Genes-R-Us discover they are beginning to lose deals. Subtle new technological advances have given their competitors the edge and Genes-R-Us have not kept pace. Of course keeping track of new technology had never been Bob’s strong point but then he always had someone to do that for him. Now he only has Bob.
Things quickly go from bad to worse when Bob attempts to make up the lost ground by immersing himself in the new technology but finds he has fallen too far behind to catch up. Worse still, when he attempts to brainstorm his way out of the problem, all the other Bobs rely on the tried and tested methods that had always worked for them in the past. But the paradigm has shifted and Genes-R-Us find themselves in a hopelessly declining spiral with a workforce that is unable to adapt. In attempting to clone success they have killed off diversity, flexibility and innovation in their workforce.
As the receivers (and the Human Rights Commission) hammer on the boardroom door, the senior executive realise, too late, that the cloning idea was probably not one of their best. “We didn’t need to clone Bob,” they wail. “What we really needed was a process that would allow us to understand what Bob did differently and what set him apart from the others. If we understood that, then we could have built a ‘Success Profile’ that could have driven our recruitment, development and performance management processes. Then we might have re-created our success without stifling our talent.”
Too late Genes-R-Us.
Orion Partners believe that cloning your staff (either by scientific or managerial means) is always wrong. We think talent strategies should be based on the success factors that are unique to your organisation. Our own ‘Success Profile’ methodology identifies the ‘difference that makes a difference’ between your star performers and the rest and uses this to build a talent strategy that still allows for individuality and innovation. Regardless of which talent solutions you develop, we believe this concept should always be at the heart of your talent strategy.
Genes-R-Us subsequently paid the price for a flawed talent strategy and were forced to build a new business in the novelty market, breeding miniature desktop elephants for bored executives. The Bob’s however, had a happier ending; realising that life sciences had been holding them back from their true passion in life, they found a new career on the Star Trek convention circuit where they made regular guest appearances as ‘the clone army of Nebulon 3′.
Live long and prosper.
Orion Partners are leaders in the creation, assessment, design and execution of talent strategy using their unique Success Profile methodology.
The Rise of the Roberts
What if you could really clone your best people? Of course it’s what every manager secretly wishes they could do; it’s a heartfelt response to the bewildering array of complex talent ‘interventions’ and performance management initiatives that try to address what seems, to be a remarkably straightforward problem. “Take Bob,” they say, “he’s my best guy. I wish I had ten more like him. If you could just clone Bob for me, I’d be happy.”
the rise of the Roberts
So what if you really could do just that. Imagine for a moment Genes-R-Us; a rapidly growing life sciences company, constrained only by their ability to attract and retain the best people in the industry. After a crisis meeting of the board, Genes-R-Us takes the bold and innovative decision to solve it’s talent crisis by cloning their best guy. The choice of who to clone is easy; Bob is a brilliant young life scientist with an innate grasp of the technology an acute commercial focus and an obsessive attention to detail, he is the obvious candidate for this daring experiment.
Moving quickly, and in contravention of every known law on human experimentation, Genes-R-Us rapidly create and grow an entire new workforce of Bobs. At first, everything goes well and the new Bobs assimilate quickly. Bob finds he can communicate well with himself and analysis and consultation periods are dramatically reduced because Bob always agrees with what Bob thinks. The Bobs don’t waste time on unproductive debates about the best way to do things because Bob already knows the best way, and Bob’s deep technical capabilities and knowledge of the business lead to massive increases in productivity and profitability within the first few weeks.
Of course there are some unexpected side-effects; for example the Bobs always order the same soup-of-the-day from the canteen and then spend their entire lunch break talking about Star Trek (actually Bob always did this but no one would ever listen before). At first it’s just a little quirky but, gradually, the realization dawns that all is not quite right.
Despite the growth in production, Genes-R-Us discover they are beginning to lose deals. Subtle new technological advances have given their competitors the edge and Genes-R-Us have not kept pace. Of course keeping track of new technology had never been Bob’s strong point but then he always had someone to do that for him. Now he only has Bob.
Things quickly go from bad to worse when Bob attempts to make up the lost ground by immersing himself in the new technology but finds he has fallen too far behind to catch up. Worse still, when he attempts to brainstorm his way out of the problem, all the other Bobs rely on the tried and tested methods that had always worked for them in the past. But the paradigm has shifted and Genes-R-Us find themselves in a hopelessly declining spiral with a workforce that is unable to adapt. In attempting to clone success they have killed off diversity, flexibility and innovation in their workforce.
As the receivers (and the Human Rights Commission) hammer on the boardroom door, the senior executive realise, too late, that the cloning idea was probably not one of their best. “We didn’t need to clone Bob,” they wail. “What we really needed was a process that would allow us to understand what Bob did differently and what set him apart from the others. If we understood that, then we could have built a ‘Success Profile’ that could have driven our recruitment, development and performance management processes. Then we might have re-created our success without stifling our talent.”
Too late Genes-R-Us.
Orion Partners believe that cloning your staff (either by scientific or managerial means) is always wrong. We think talent strategies should be based on the success factors that are unique to your organisation. Our own ‘Success Profile’ methodology identifies the ‘difference that makes a difference’ between your star performers and the rest and uses this to build a talent strategy that still allows for individuality and innovation. Regardless of which talent solutions you develop, we believe this concept should always be at the heart of your talent strategy.
Genes-R-Us subsequently paid the price for a flawed talent strategy and were forced to build a new business in the novelty market, breeding miniature desktop elephants for bored executives. The Bob’s however, had a happier ending; realising that life sciences had been holding them back from their true passion in life, they found a new career on the Star Trek convention circuit where they made regular guest appearances as ‘the clone army of Nebulon 3′.
Live long and prosper.
Orion Partners are leaders in the creation, assessment, design and execution of talent strategy using their unique Success Profile methodology.