“The team with the best players wins.” -- 杰克·韦尔奇

When Jack Welch was the CEO of General Electric, he was able to producerecord growth year after year by using a few simple principles relentlessly. Thesystem of management he usedwas called differentiation. At the core ofthe differentiation system is a belief that everyone in should knowwhere they stand in terms of their performance at all times.

Here are four steps to make this system of differentiation work for you andyour business:

1. Develop a ranking system.

58003 Learn which players are on each level A, Bor C to manage these different player rankings, then devise a plan to celebratethe A players, appreciate the B players and fire the C players.

2. Set aside time to develop your team.

It is important to let every employee know where he or she stands throughout hisor her time in your business; I would suggest every quarter of the fiscal year. Bybeing honest and open with each team member and their performance, youcreate value in their efforts. Those that are lacking with either findencouragement to become better or they will quit.

3. Create an acknowledgement strategy.

Develop a way to publicly celebrate your A players and appreciate yourB players.

Welch celebrated A players with kind words, public recognitions, bonuses,promotions, plaques, awards and trophies. His system also rewarded the B players for their dependability and loyalty to the company. SomeB players can ultimately become A players with the right mentorship and positivefeedback.

4. Have a plan of action for poor-performing employees.

Let the poorest performer know how they are doing, give them anopportunity to improve, or have them leave. Often C players can be seen as bottom feeders who can't handle candidfeedback in the workplace. They are easily offended or emotionally hurtwhenever they are told how they are doing or what they could do better. Normallyyou can spot a C player from their behaviors -- they tend to always be late,constantly pessimistic and always have excuses as to why they could not gettheir tasks done. Let your C players know where they stand without anysugarcoating. Give them two weeks to improve, and if they refuse, let them go.