Synopses & Reviews
If you were applying for your job today, would your human resources department hire you?Your answer reflects directly on your company's ability to recognize true talent. To build business, move development into new areas, and consistently innovate, it's necessary to have the contacts and understanding of the best in your industry. A handful of HR representatives has the business savvy to make and nurture those connections. But the majority of that knowledge rests in the hands of the most successful executives, who often have their eye fixed on the bottom line, instead of the line of succession, that can make or break an organization.
As executive coaches with a deep understanding of change and challenges in a wide range of industries, Alan Weiss and Nancy MacKay deliver a straight-from-the-hip critique of the structural obstacles that impede true progress, and the solutions-based, accountability—driven measures that you must take to nurture profitable talent while ensuring business growth and success. The Talent Advantage gives you the edge with:
- Guidance on a viable succession plan for leadership positions at every level
- Examples of executive leadership crises, the obstacles they faced, and how they fixed their problems
- Ways to create accountability for executives, HR, and new employees themselves as their careers develop
- Techniques to give HR a voice and real power in the building of both businessand talent
- Ways to break down the communication silos that inhibit information sharing throughout a company
Enriched by their broad knowledge of business growth and executive psychology, Weiss and MacKay show you how to become an effective, well-rounded leader. Their guidance will give you the tools to build the skills, the savvy, and the structure your organization needs to attract and retain top talent, maximize departmental efficiency, and create new avenues of profitability.
Synopsis
In today’s business world, traditional battles about market share, inexpensive labor, and time-to-market are being superseded by a more fundamental and essential need: the quest for talent. This won’t be a mere battle, but an all out war, as organizations reach across traditional geopolitical and cultural borders to attract and retain the best and the brightest. In their work with hundreds of managers in particular and thousands of executives in general, the authors have discovered that the manager is the point person for this talent search. Extraordinary management is the key to the decisions, structures, processes, and personal examplethat attracts, secures, nurtures, and retains talent.
Synopsis
A fun and creative guide to keeping customers ecstatically happy
Businesses are used to competing for market share, inexpensive labor, and time-to-market, but today's biggest competition among top firms may be the war for top talent. Today's best organizations are reaching across traditional geopolitical and cultural boundaries to attract and retain the best and brightest workers. In The Talent Advantage, authors Weiss and MacKay tap into their long experience as experts in talent recruitment and retainment to explain why today's business leaders must take firm control of the talent hunting process to ensure great hires. Here, they show leaders exactly how to do that.
Alan Weiss (Greenwich, RI) is a consultant, speaker, and the bestselling author of Getting Started in Consulting (978-0-471-47969-7) and Million Dollar Consulting (978-0-07-138703-3). His firm, Summit Consulting Group, has worked on recruiting and retaining talent with Merck, Allianz Insurance, and Hewlett-Packard, among others. Nancy MacKay (North Vancouver, BC) is cofounder and President of MacKay & Associates Advisors Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in CEO coaching, leadership development, and corporate strategy. Her clients include RBC Royal Bank, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Teekay Corporation, and many other leading organizations.
Synopsis
Praise for The Talent Advantage"The Talent Advantage gives each of us the opportunity to learnnew ways to accelerate leadership development. Do yourself and your employees a huge favor-invest your time in reading this book."
—Peter Blake, CEO, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
"The Talent Advantage is the quintessential road map foranyone who wants to become a successful business leader!"
—Bjorn Moller, CEO, Teekay Corporation
"Drawing on a wide variety of practical examples, theauthors explain how to create extraordinary leaders through effective succession planning. The book is a fantastic mix ofstories, wisdom, and practical advice."
—Craig Campbell, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
"The Talent Advantage will make you think about talentmanagement in a new way. The book is full of practical strategies thatcan be applied immediately to strengthen your talent pool."
—Paul Wilson, President, Mark's Work Wearhouse
"Talent is an essential competitive advantage in thenew economy. This book is full of practical tips and techniques togive companies an edge in the war for talent."
—Chad Hiley, Vice President, Human Resources, Barrick Gold Corporation
About the Author
Alan Weiss is a consultant, speaker, and bestselling author of
Getting Started in Consulting and
Million Dollar Consulting. His firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc., has worked with clients such as Merck, Hewlett-Packard, GE, Mercedes-Benz, State Street Corporation, The Times Mirror Company, the Federal Reserve, The New York Times Company, and over 500 other leading organizations. His blog is www.contrarianconsulting.com.
Dr. Nancy MacKay is President and cofounder of MacKay & Associates Advisors Inc. She coaches and facilitates six CEO networks involving over seventy CEOs. Her clients include Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Teekay Corporation, PricewaterhouseCoopers, RBC Royal Bank, TELUS, Methanex, Best Buy, and many other leading organizations. For more information, please visit www.mackayandassociates.ca.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments.Introduction.
About the Authors.
Chapter 1 Why Leaders Must Fight the Battle.
Human Resources is to Talent Search as Airplane Food is to Fine Dining.
Strong leaders attract strong people.
Threatened subordinates sink the ship.
Staff functions are, well, staff functions.
Would YOU be hired by your own HR department today?
Chapter 2 The Five Failings of Non-Extraordinary Leaders (and their cures).
The Leaders’ Dysfunctions Become Everyone’s Dysfunctions.
Priorities: Not making the priority list.
Assessment: Not knowing it if you tripped over it.
Exemplar: Setting the wrong example (cognitive dissonance).
Connections: Career development divorces succession planning.
Women: Not understanding male filters.
Chapter 3 The Three Priorities of the Talent-Seeking Leader.
How to Accelerate and Simplify the Search for Top People.
Winning the war for talent: People.
Strategy development: Involving the right people.
Strategy execution: Creating a culture of accountability for results.
Chapter 4 Talent is More Than Pure Performance.
We’re Not Talking About Performing Seals.
What is talent and why does it matter?
The difference between good and outstanding.
Talent “outs”.
Assessing your resources: The talent test.
Chapter 5 The Semi-Renewable Resource.
You Can Replant Trees, but Talent Doesn’t Grow so Easily.
If talent were readily renewable, every company would be excellent.
Trees don’t move, talent does.
Talent isn’t forever—it can obsolesce.
The last thing you need is parity.
Chapter 6 Talent Is Attracted, Not Recruited.
The Myths of Corporate Recruiting.
Competing by dollars is silly and expensive.
Why “most desired” lists don’t matter.
Maximizing application of talent drives up attraction.
“Shanghaied” sailors eventually mutiny.
Chapter 7 Competitive Advantage Is All Around You.
Talent Builds Advantage From the Inside Out.
Approaching the marketplace from a position of strength.
The value of a strong bench.
The power of human and intellectual capital.
Why talent is often subsumed.
Chapter 8 The Process of Retaining Talent.
Attraction is Useless Without Nurturing and Development.
Nonfi nancial incentives and motivators.
Inclusion.
The dynamic of skills, experience, knowledge, and behavior.
Emotional connections.
Chapter 9 The Aerodynamics of Leadership.
Creating an Arrow and not a Flying Barn.
You may be on the horse, but do you know where it’s going?
Strategy as a daily guide and filter.
Accepting dissent but not rebellion.
Micro- and macro-managing.
Chapter 10 Counterintuitive Development.
Focusing on Top Talent, not Remedial Help.
Minimizing dysfunctional human resource investments.
Recognizing the all-stars.
Creating accountabilities for development.
Sharing success and credit.
Chapter 11 Six Strategies to Win the War for Talent.
Winning Mere Battles is Insufficient.
Create a leadership style that is consistent and transparent.
Create accountabilities for talent creation.
and retention down the line to attract, retain, and develop talent.
Marry career development and succession planning.
Become the leading advocate and avatar for top talent acquisition.
View talent holistically, embracing life balance.
Accept nothing less than extraordinary leadership and talent.
Index.