The Right People
I'm surprised people find this controversial. Everywhere I've worked there have been the Go-To people: people you went to to get things done, correctly and on time. And there were always the other type, and everyone knew who they were too.
A big part of management is to:
1) Acquire and keep the first
2) Try to help the people in the second group move in to the first or, failing that, out of the door.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
