I would put it differently. I agree with the author's point that people are not A or B players -- but you can meaningfully rate them so in particular roles. The author is an A player in the right role. I don't think this should be news; you can see it in coaching of sports teams. Success often comes from matching people to the right role.
The whole "A's hire A's" thing is a bit trite, but it's probably true that if you are not a good fit to your current role, it's even less likely that you will be able to determine whether someone else is a good fit. (There are exceptions. There are non-technical people who are good at hiring technical people. They're just rare.)
As far as organizations gathering dead weight -- while mis-hires are propbably a big cause, people aren't immutably A, B, or C players. Life happens, priorities change, people sometimes shift roles over time as well.
The whole "A's hire A's" thing is a bit trite, but it's probably true that if you are not a good fit to your current role, it's even less likely that you will be able to determine whether someone else is a good fit. (There are exceptions. There are non-technical people who are good at hiring technical people. They're just rare.)
As far as organizations gathering dead weight -- while mis-hires are propbably a big cause, people aren't immutably A, B, or C players. Life happens, priorities change, people sometimes shift roles over time as well.