Talent Development, Star Performers and Bell Labs

The recently published The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation has received wide favourable comment.  Reading it reminded me of an earlier assessment that is relevant in a era where business is acutely conscious of the need to manage talent.

Here is a checklist of behaviours and attitudes encouraged in staff by Bell Labs in an effort to create star performers.

Going beyond the job

• I make the most of my present assignment.
• I do more than I am asked to do.
• I look for places where I might spot problems and fix them.
• I fix bugs that I notice (in programs) or at least tell someone about them.
• I look for opportunities to do extra work to help the project move along more quickly.

New ideas and follow-through

• I try to do some original work.
• I look for places where something that’s already done might be done better.
• I have ideas about new features and other technical projects that might be developed.
• When I have an idea, I try to make it work and let people know about it.
• I try to document what my idea is and why it’s a good idea.
• I think about and try to document how my idea could save the company money or bring in new business.
• I seek advice from people who have been successful in promoting ideas.
• I construct a plan for selling my idea to people in the company.

Dealing constructively with criticism.

• I tell colleagues about my ideas to get their reactions and criticisms.
• I use their comments and criticisms to make my ideas better.
• I consult the sources of criticism to help find solutions.
• I continue to revise my ideas to incorporate my colleagues’ concerns.

Planning for the future

• I spend time planning what I’d like to work on next.
• I look for other interesting projects to work on when my present work gets close to the finish line.
• I talk to people to find out what projects are coming up and will need people.

Source:  Kelley R and Caplan J (1993)  How Bell Labs creates star performers.  Harvard Business Review, July-August 1993 pp.128