Forced Ranking

Forced Ranking

Hillary and Tenzing were like two wheels of a bicycle. The front
wheel got there first, but not because it was superior.

When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team
confidence, excellence becomes a reality. (Joe Paterno)

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another.
(Charles Dickens)

Since I have no craving for the fruits of actions, actions do not
contaminate me. (Bhagwadgita)

One never notices what has been done: One can only see what remains
to be done. (Marie Curie)

Beware so long as you live, of judging people by appearances. (Jacob
Braude)

Men judge more by the eye than by the hand, for everyone can see and
few can feel. Everyone sees what you appear to be, few really know
what you are. (Niccolo Machiavelli)

All that is gold does not glitter: not all that wander are lost: The
old that is strong does not wither; Deep roots are not reached by the
frost. (JRR Tolkien)

Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly
recognizes genius. (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Only a mediocre person is always at his best. (Somerset Maugham)

Let us realize that the privilege to work is a gift, the power to
work is a blessing, the love of work is success. (David O Mckay)

I dont care what people think of me; that is something I cannot
control. What is important is what I think of myself. I always
believe that one should never fall in ones own eyes. (Priya
Tendulkar)

Rather fail with honour than succeed by fraud. (Sophocles)

It is better to deserve honours and not have them, than to have them
and not deserve them. (Mark Twain)

Dignity consists not in possessing honours, but in the consciousness
that we deserve them. (Aristotle)

This system encourages a culture where the ultimate goal is getting a good
appraisal, where all that matters is to make an impression with the
presentation, being like-minded, knowing the right people, tact,
(sycophancy, yes-man-ship, apple-polishing, etc are the bad words). The
satisfaction of working to the best of ones ability is actually most
important.

A strong advocate of Forced Ranking may justify that all of us are not
equal, just as the five fingers of the hand are not equal, but only a
person familiar with Karate knows the importance of the little finger in
making a fist to deliver an effective punch. Similarly, each individual
brings unique talents to the team and enriches it in ways that cannot be
quantified, as long as all are engaged- which is the major challenge for
the leadership.

Training is for animals, and Learning is for humans, so why must the
Carrot and Stick approach be used with humans?

Newton discovered gravity when he was lying under an apple tree. Similarly
Archimedes discovered specific gravity when he was in a bathtub and came
out shouting Eureka. These discoveries were unthinkable had they been
working for the next appraisal.

I once had to decide whether a candidate was fit to join Special Forces
or not. He had passed all tests with distinction and I thought he was fit,
enthusiastic and suitable. But when I mentioned this to my team of
instructors, they sighed and said it was OK if I thought so, but they had a
very different view; the Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) Instructors said
that they always found the individual making some excuses; the
Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) Instructors said that this individual flatly
refused to follow their instructions. He conserved his energy to impress
only me. He worked only under supervision, when he knew that he was in the
spotlight and his efforts were being observed by the person who mattered,
thus he was unsuitable for small team Special Forces operations where
team-spirit, trust, integrity and reliability are of utmost importance.
Small Team Special Forces operations are recognized as extremely effective.

We need to choose between encouraging formation of Islands of Excellence
and helping create a sea of Excellence