Put the right people in the right place

MarineMax Inc. (Ranked 1 in 2005 and 2006) has dedicated itself to delivering the boating dream. But the company’s management has also realized that it can’t deliver that dream without the right people. MarineMax has taken the concept of topgrading, the process of filling every position in the organization with an “A” player at the appropriate compensation level, and made it part of the company’s culture. The concept, developed by Bradford D. Smart and Geoffrey H. Smart, is defined in Brad Smart’s book, “Topgrading.” According to Smart, an A player is someone who qualifies among the top 10 percent of those available for a position. A B player is someone in the next 25 percent and a C player is someone below the top 35 percent.

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