????還記得皮特?貝斯特嗎？他曾經(jīng)是甲殼蟲樂隊的鼓手。之后，林戈?斯塔爾接替了他的位子，甲殼蟲樂隊也自此獲得了“披頭四”（Fab Four）的美譽。

????1960年，應約翰?列儂、保羅?麥卡特尼和喬治?哈里森的邀請，貝斯特加盟甲殼蟲樂隊，當時，他們準備前往德國北部的漢堡市，去當?shù)鼐銟凡窟M行一系列演出。據(jù)說，正是在漢堡夜復一夜的現(xiàn)場演出奠定了披頭士的演出風格和表演技巧，使他們在幾年后成為舉世聞名的樂隊。

????樂隊其他成員繼續(xù)名利雙收，惟有貝斯特中途折戟。原因何在？他的表現(xiàn)確實不錯，但還不足以好到能讓他一直留在樂隊的程度，所以在與樂隊合作兩年之后，他被樂隊解雇。

????1962年初，為了獲得迪卡唱片公司（Decca Records）的唱片合同，甲殼蟲樂隊（當時貝斯特還在）進行了試唱，卻遭到了唱片公司的拒絕。幾個月以后，他們?nèi)ヅ谅屣L唱片公司（Parlophone）試唱，該公司的制作人同意與他們簽約，但是堅持在錄音期間使用一位經(jīng)驗豐富的鼓手，而不是貝斯特（很顯然，這是當時的一個行業(yè)慣例）。

????聽了制作人的要求，列儂、麥卡特尼和哈里森他們決定解雇貝斯特，另尋他人。之后，他們選擇了林戈?斯塔爾，接下來發(fā)生的事，就眾所周知了。顯然，他們覺得如果貝斯特不夠優(yōu)秀，不適合錄音，那他肯定也沒法與樂隊共同實現(xiàn)更高的音樂抱負。

????音樂圈與大多數(shù)公司高管們的日常關心的工作焦點隔了十萬八千里。但是，幾乎我們遇到的每個經(jīng)理人都遇到過類似“皮特?貝斯特”的問題——某個成員的表現(xiàn)不錯，但還是不夠好。

????一個人“表現(xiàn)不錯，卻又不夠好”，怎么會這樣呢？如果經(jīng)理人希望自己的團隊有所改善或與眾不同時，他就會遇到這種情況。如果團隊成員都希望能有所變化或提高，經(jīng)理人就要弄清楚，是否所有團隊成員（順便說一句，也包括經(jīng)理人本人）都能幫助團隊實現(xiàn)和維持更高的業(yè)績水平。

????遺憾的是，答案并不總是肯定的。總會有一個人能勝任目前的工作——如皮特?貝斯特能夠勝任酒吧演出的樂隊鼓手——但要想提升表現(xiàn)，他卻有些力不從心。在這種情況下，該如何對待這類員工呢？

????Remember Pete Best? Best was the Beatles drummer before Ringo Starr took the job and the group went on to become the Fab Four.

????Best was invited by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison -- the original Beatles -- to join them in 1960 just as they went to Hamburg in northern Germany to play a series of club dates. According to Beatles lore, it was in Hamburg, playing night after night in front of a live audience, that the group developed the seasoning and skills that would make them world-famous only a few years later.

????Why didn't Best go on to fame and fortune with the others? He was considered good, but not good enough, and so he was dismissed after spending two years with the group.

????In early 1962, the Beatles (with Best) auditioned for a recording contract with Decca Records and they were turned down. Months later, they auditioned for Parlophone. The producer there agreed to sign them but insisted on using an experienced session drummer instead of Best for the recordings (apparently, this was common practice at the time).

????When Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison heard what the producer wanted, they decided to let Best go entirely and find someone else. They chose Ringo Starr and the rest is history. Apparently, they felt if Best wasn't good enough for the recording sessions, he wasn't good enough for what they aspired to become.

????The music world may seem like a universe away from the daily concerns of most bosses, but almost every manager we've encountered has had a "Pete Best" problem -- someone on staff who was good, but not good enough.

????How can someone be "good but not good enough"? It happens when you want your group to become better or somehow different. And when you and the group aspire to change and improve, you need to ask everyone involved (including yourself, by the way) if they are capable of helping the group attain and sustain that higher level of performance.

????Unfortunately, the answer isn't always "yes." There's often someone who's perfectly capable in the current scenario -- like Pete Best as a club band drummer -- but isn't capable of doing his part to lift performance. What do you do with this person?