Top Talent Drives Successful Companies (& NHL Teams)

I don’t know Tim Murray personally, but it’s clear he values Kane’s talent. Without much debate, Kane joins a historically underperforming Buffalo Sabres team and becomes the most talented forward (if not, player) in the organization (until *fingers crossed* Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel arrive after the 2015 Draft).  Effectively what Murray has done is swap multiple players of debatable value and returned one with exceptionally high upside.  

Similarly, successful companies make bold decisions about their culture and people in order to drive returns over the long run.  Sure, a winning product or differentiated, top-tier service can rule the market over the short run, but companies will need innovation, communication, leadership, teamwork, and laser-focused execution in order to sustain growth.  This happens when sharp, intelligent, top-tier talent is added, fitting and buying into the strategic direction of the company, while under-performers or average maintainers are shown the door.  If you look at top-tier NHL franchises, each has a collection of world class talent at the helm:  Kane, Toews, Hossa, Keith in Chicago; Crosby, Malkin, Letang in Pittsburgh; Kopitar, Doughty, Brown, Quick in Los Angeles.

Our company is striving to advance a culture of accountability, teamwork, high performance, and communication. To do this, we add people exemplifying these traits, who then lead from the front, adding momentum to us getting closer to the culture we envision.  We are in the business of finding great people for our clients because we believe wholeheartedly this is what drives success. I don’t know whether the Sabres will win more next season, or make the playoffs, or if this trade ends up being the first big piece of a Stanley Cup winner. But the logic behind the move holds: making bold decisions to procure the best talent possible yields the best chance of sustained success.