Plato believed that men are divided into three classes: gold silver and bronze. Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist, argued that "the vital few" contributed to most progress. Such viewpoints are taboo (禁忌) today in public life. Politicians avoid talking of a "leadership class" or "the vital few". School recruitment turns away from picking winners. Universities welcome the masses: more people now teach at British universities than attended them in the 1950s.
In the private sector, things could hardly be more different. The world's best companies struggle tirelessly to find and keep the vital few. They offer them fat pay packets, extra training, powerful instruction and more challenging assignments. Private-equity (私人股权) firms rely heavily on a few stars. Firms in emerging markets are desperate to find high-flyers who can cope with rapid growth and fast-changing environments competently.
Few people know more about how companies manage talent than Bill Conaty and RamCharan. Mr. Conaty led the human-resources department at General Electric (GE) for 14 years. Mr. Charan has spent the past few decades presenting proposals to some celebrated entrepreneurs. Their recent book, The Talent Masters, provides a nice mix of portraits of well-known talent factories, such as GE and Procter & Gamble (P&G宝洁).
Successful companies make sure that senior managers are involved with "talent development". Jack Welch and A. G. Lafley, former bosses of GE and P&G, claimed that they spent 40% of their time on personnel. Andy Grove, who ran Intel, a chipmaker, obliged all the senior people, including himself, to spend at least a week a year instructing high-flyers. Nitin Paranjpe, the boss of Hindustan Unilever, recruits people from campuses and regularly visits high-flyers in their offices.
Elitism (精英主义) has its own drawbacks. In their rush to classify people, companies may miss potential stars. Those who are singled out for special treatment can become too full of themselves. It may also lead to social inequality and the concentration of power. Since elitism tends to focus only on the interests of a few, they may ignore the needs and voices of the majority, leading to discontent and resistance in society.
