1. a considerable number of the journeymen are really potential superstars. They have simply been overlooked and undeveloped.

2. There are no star performers. Just people who seem to be stars because other people who are not in the spotlight do such a good job supporting them.

It’s like the singer in a band. She attracts the attention but the songs are written by someone else and the music is played by someone else. And, really, she could be easily replaced. She is not special in any way.

It would be nice to see some examples from real life to support this idea.

The difference between performance art and business is that, as has often been observed, business isn’t a popularity contest. While I don’t disagree that some people have talents for leading and organizing that are exceptional, I believe that many of the “journeyman” workers have leadership talent that hasn’t been revealed because they haven’t been in the right environment, under the right expectations and leadership, and with the right support. In the case of the ballet company, while Nureyev may draw in the crowds, the quality of the show is far more due to the skill of the choreographer and director than just Nureyev. Even in the case where Nureyev is the only performer to appear on stage, the lighting, scenery, etc. are all planned and created by others, as is the music to which he will dance.

My own experience as an artist also suggests that there are many great performers who will never be “discovered”, and hence will never be known to many people. Correspondingly there are many star performers who are not of the highest skill or artistry, but were in the right place at the right time to gain widespread exposure and develop a popular following. This is also the nature of the business world, in my opinion, and many star performers are never discovered. Thus, it isn’t the special talents (the “gunslingers”) we need to seek, but creative, free thinking, savvy workers who have the potential to be great team members OR leaders, as the chances of a past “star performer” repeating again are only so-so. I also suggest that star performers are so dependent on the journeyman workers supporting them, that “repeat performances” are more traceable to those “journeymen” and similar factors than necessarily to the abilities of the “star”. This all makes me believe the pursuit of “star performers” is of limited value.
Thanks again for your comment. – Tim

You have an interesting argument. That solid journeymen drive success, not specially talented individuals.

But, let’s look at classical music. Who do people go to see? Mediocre players or superstars? What about ballet? Nureyev and Baryshnikov or Joe Blow?

They go to see people with special talents. And why shouldn’t such people appear in the business world as well?

If they do, they will need a team of solid journeymen to support them but isn’t their special flair the stuff that makes a company great?

Toronto had a good ballet company but when Nureyev adopted it to support his own productions, the addition of a superstar made it into something more. Because he could do things that other people couldn’t.