ABSTRACT
Most businesses and public bodies need some measure of above-average talent if they are to progress and then to retain any preeminence they may have achieved. The problem, however, is that in all areas of human endeavour high-order human talent is scarce, while at the same time it has to be accepted that standard approaches based on average people seldom deliver excellence. As a result, a choice often has to be made in practice between employing a broad band of above-average talent in adequate supply or a very small amount of exceptional talent in rare supply. Throughout the arts, and especially in music, exceptional talent counts: it is the truly gifted artist who draws the crowds rather than the competent. In the very different field of business, lone entrepreneurs with flair have an impressive record of setting up innovative industries and surpassing the efforts of much larger competitors.
