Is too much talent a problem?

Yes it is. And I will refer to my alma mater AP Moller Maersk on this.

In the business it is in, Maersk has always been the gold standard for talent pool. And there is a lot of investment and efforts made to nurture this. So much so that when the pyramid happens, those who didn't make it are happily lapped up by rivals. But this isn't really the issue.

The problem lies in corporate offices which are located in nice places, close to the decision makers and attracts the best talent. You then have a gathering of super smart people who are now wondering how they are going to prove themselves and make a mark. There does not seem enough to do for everyone, so you invent work - make new processes because the current one is too simple. Request for more reports because the current one doesn't have enough graphs. What would be a 5 minute conversation becomes a 10 page power point. Having now spent some time outside of AP Moller, the single biggest difference I find is how most companies try and keep it simple while AP Moller (with its huge talent pool) complicates it. Rivals seem better at organizing talent, knowing where to add more horse power and when to keep things as is.

For me the answer to this talent problem (which I am sure also exists with other top companies) lies in getting folks who have some time on their hands to look outwards, not inwards. Use the talent to see how the world is changing and trust them to bring new learning home. Don't waste talent reinventing a wheel that is already working well.

I recently did an orientation for a group of new joiners. It involved explaining a particular process and how it is applied in the context of what my client was looking to achieve. They all understood it immediately - and then one smart guy commented, "but this is too simple!".

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