More, better, now: a no-BS system for building talent that performs

Let’s start with a brutal truth: talent is your only real competitive advantage.

Not random acts of HR. Not slogans. Not your shiny new org design.

Talent.

Some people—and some teams—deliver disproportionate value. You don’t need a McKinsey study to tell you that. You see it every day. The few who move faster, think deeper, and adapt better shape the trajectory of your team's results. The question is: how do you get more of them, help them get better, and deploy them when and where it matters, fast?

That’s where More, Better, Now comes in. A model that's been more than two decades in the making, proven in research and tested worldwide. 

It’s a system. One that recognises talent as your primary lever for performance, and tells you exactly what to do to maximise it. No bumper stickers. Just what works.

What is More, Better, Now?

It’s the system that high-performance leaders use—consciously or not—to make talent their competitive edge. Three levers. Nine actions. One mindset.

1. More – Get more than your fair share

This is the numbers game. You want more high-performing talent than your competitors. That means:

• Hire well. Not just fast, not just for “fit”— really well. Prioritize quality. Don’t settle.

• Drive performance. Set clear expectations. Give honest feedback. Act fast on underperformance.

• Retain the best. Make it a no-brainer that your best people stay. They have options—you need to earn them daily.

Amazon’s Bar Raiser program ensures every hire is better than 50% of current employees in similar roles. Bar Raisers are seasoned interviewers from outside the hiring team, trained to assess candidates objectively against Amazon’s Leadership Principles. They can veto hires that don't meet the high bar, maintaining long-term talent quality over short-term needs. This approach helps Amazon scale without compromising on talent standards.

2. Better – Upgrade what you’ve got

Even when you can’t hire more, you can always make your current talent better.

• Realize potential. Spot it early. Stretch it often. Promote only when they’re ready, not when they’ve waited long enough.

• Develop deliberately. Not just courses—on-the-job experiences, which require stretch.

• Motivate meaningfully. Know what motivates: autonomy, variety, learning, purpose, recognition, career … —these deliver incremental effort.

Netflix is a case in point. Netflix maintains high talent quality through a culture of continuous feedback and development. They replaced annual reviews with frequent, informal 360-degree feedback sessions, encouraging employees to provide candid, actionable insights to peers, managers, and direct reports. This approach fosters a high-performance environment where feedback is integral to daily operations. Additionally, Netflix's "Live 360s" involve real-time, face-to-face feedback among senior leaders, promoting transparency and reinforcing their commitment to talent excellence. For them, development isn’t a perk—it’s a business necessity.

3. Now – Put the right people in the right place, right now

Talent hoarding kills value. Talent movement creates it.

• Know your critical roles and skills. What roles drive your strategy? Know the skills your strategy demands. 

• Build your pipeline. Know your supply-side.  Know the skills you have, and who’s ready and able to do more.  Now.  Not “Someday. Maybe”.  

• Play the chessboard. Internal mobility isn’t HR’s job. It’s yours. Move talent to where it has the most impact—fast.

PepsiCo ensures rapid talent allocation through a dynamic internal talent marketplace called mydevelopment. Launched in 2022, this AI-driven platform enables employees to access internal jobs, projects, and stretch assignments based on their skills and development areas. By democratising access to opportunities and allowing for broadening experiences across functions and geographies, PepsiCo swiftly aligns talent with evolving business needs, enhancing agility and performance.

When you get More, Better, and Now working together, you’re not managing HR processes —you’re orchestrating performance.

But what if you don’t?

Simple. If you only do More, you’ll hire stars and burn them out. If you only do Better, you risk investing in the development of loyal low performers. If you only do Now, you may move mediocrity with impressive speed.

It’s the integration that counts. That’s the system. And leadership is what it takes to make it real.

Final word

If you lead people, you own this. Not HR. You own the system. You don’t need new processes, playbooks or tools.  You need a talent mindset.  Talent management is an act of leadership. It may be THE act of leadership.  

Let others chase fads. You build talent.

More. Better. Now.

Disclaimer: The opinions are ours and not those of affiliated organizations.