I agree with you completely. "Rock Star" programmers, or programmers who at least have that "Rock Star" mentality, are clever enough to realize that doing a shitty job on a project they openly dislike means in the future they won't have to work on projects they dislike.
Due to their "Rock Star" mentality they can rationalize this poor work ethic because they truly believe they are benefiting everyone: "it's far better for me to kick ass with the XYZ project then to do this crappy ABC project"
Trust me, I've been in that position (rock star). There's something more to "rock star" than just passion... they are aware of their rock star status.
IMO, rock star programmers are good if you can handle them. You need to make them believe that what they are working on is of the utmost importance that they specifically were assigned it precisely because of it's importance and because of their capability. That's the best motivation for a rock star.
Otherwise I agree with TomOfTTB: some rock stars, but more drones.
Due to their "Rock Star" mentality they can rationalize this poor work ethic because they truly believe they are benefiting everyone: "it's far better for me to kick ass with the XYZ project then to do this crappy ABC project"
Trust me, I've been in that position (rock star). There's something more to "rock star" than just passion... they are aware of their rock star status.
IMO, rock star programmers are good if you can handle them. You need to make them believe that what they are working on is of the utmost importance that they specifically were assigned it precisely because of it's importance and because of their capability. That's the best motivation for a rock star.
Otherwise I agree with TomOfTTB: some rock stars, but more drones.