People don't always leave, although they do die. Peter Norvig has been at Google since 02000. Jeff Dean has been at Google since 01999. Ken Thompson was at Bell Labs from 01966 to 02000, when he "retired" (but, really, Bell Labs no longer existed). Mick Jagger has been in the Rolling Stones since 01962. Marvin Minsky was at the AI Lab from its founding as Project MAC in 01963 until his death in 02016.
What would the Rolling Stones look like if someone had said, "Our organization shouldn't be resting on the shoulders of Mick Jagger"? What would Google look like if someone had said "Our organization shouldn't be resting on the shoulders of Jeff and Sanjay"? What would CSAIL look like if someone had said "Our organization shouldn't be resting on the shoulders of Minsky"? They'd look like mediocre failures.
"How are you going to replace Jagger if he quits the Stones?" is not really the right question. You have to accept that the Stones without Jagger, or Bell Labs without Thompson, just would not be the same. To a very great extent the productivity of a creative organization depends on its ability to attract and retain high performers, because it's inevitable that it rests on their shoulders. Denial won't change that.
If you want your organization to succeed in a creative field, the right question to ask is, "How can we hire people like Ken Thompson, and how can we keep them from wanting to leave?"
What would the Rolling Stones look like if someone had said, "Our organization shouldn't be resting on the shoulders of Mick Jagger"? What would Google look like if someone had said "Our organization shouldn't be resting on the shoulders of Jeff and Sanjay"? What would CSAIL look like if someone had said "Our organization shouldn't be resting on the shoulders of Minsky"? They'd look like mediocre failures.
"How are you going to replace Jagger if he quits the Stones?" is not really the right question. You have to accept that the Stones without Jagger, or Bell Labs without Thompson, just would not be the same. To a very great extent the productivity of a creative organization depends on its ability to attract and retain high performers, because it's inevitable that it rests on their shoulders. Denial won't change that.
If you want your organization to succeed in a creative field, the right question to ask is, "How can we hire people like Ken Thompson, and how can we keep them from wanting to leave?"