Don't Treat All Employees Equally
Written by Dave Bailey
Written by Dave Bailey, Aug 14, 2026
Treating everyone the same feels fair, but it holds back the small group of people who carry your company. This is why you should not treat all employees equally: a simple rule shows that a handful of A+ players produce half your output, so your job is to put them first. Here is how to find them and keep them.
Here’s a mathematical rule every founder should know: the square root of your team size produces 50% of the output.
This is called Price’s Law.
Let me break this down.
- In a company of 25, 5 people are producing half the results.
- In a company of 100, 10 people are producing half the results.
- In a company of 10,000, 100 people are producing half the results.
These people are your A+ Players.
When I tell CEOs about this rule, they know exactly who these people are . . . by name.
One CEO I worked with ran an employee engagement survey. He had tonnes of data by manager, location, department, age, gender . . .
I asked, “What about performance?”
We checked and it turned out the top performers were the least happy group.
Without realising it, his company was optimising for their average employee, not the top performer.
Obviously, this is a mistake.
If your A+ players aren’t thriving, neither is your company.
Here’s how to put A+ players first:
1. Recognise Their Contribution
A+ players often fly under the radar because they don’t complain. They just get on with it. But this doesn’t mean they don’t need recognition.
Call out their wins, publicly and privately, and make sure they know how vital they are to the team.
2. Create Environments Where They Can Shine
Ask yourself: Are your systems empowering your top performers, or are they slowing them down? A+ players hate inefficiency, unnecessary meetings, and having to clean up after B players.
Eliminate these barriers so they can focus on doing what they do best: winning.
3. Stop Tolerating Mediocrity
Low performers don’t just waste resources—they actively slow A+ players down.
If you want to protect your best people, you need to deal with the low performers quickly and decisively.
4. Invest in Their Growth
A+ players want to grow. If they feel like they aren’t growing fast enough, they’ll start looking for their next opportunity.
Provide them with challenges, mentorship, and opportunities to develop their skills and leadership.
So get out your calculators!
Take the number of employees in your company and find the square root.
That’s how many A+ players are in your company.
Hunt them down, listen to them, and remove any source of demotivation.
Everyone has a voice. But the voices of your A+ players should be the loudest.
Continue Learning About Managing A+ Players
- Want more of them? Read how to build a more talent-dense company.
- Not sure how to recognise them? Learn how to praise when you have high standards.
- Want to spot one? Read about the three traits of a Super IC.
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Originally published August 13, 2026.
