According to Jack, managers should devote a lot of time, energy, and money to your A and A-minus players, and to let your C players go. By contrast, Patty McCord dislikes the term "A player" and she writes: "Sometimes it's important to let even people who have done a great job go, in order to make space for high performers in new functions or with different skills."

Discuss your ideas about talent management, using the prompts below:

• What do you think about the concept of investing in your "A players"? Is it still relevant in today's business environment?
• Do management practices in your organization align more to Welch or McCord's approach?
• Based on this week's articles, describe one change you would recommend in managing talent at your organization. How would this change produce better results?