Introduction

In some books, the first line is memorable (“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”). In others, it’s pithy (“Howard Roark laughed.”). The first line of this book sums up its underlying philosophy and provides its raison d’être: “People are our most valuable asset.”

The line is spoken by Will Perez, the CEO of the fictional company Capital View, which is the setting for this book. Like so many CEOs, Perez spouts this cliché without giving it much thought. But although executives at almost all organizations profess that people are their most valuable asset, do all of these organizations actually behave as if it were true? In many cases the answer is no. That paradox is what this book is dedicated to addressing and, I hope, resolving.

Everyone says that people are their most valuable asset and many actually believe it. However, very few organizations have talent practices that reflect a true belief in the value of people. In a few cases, it might be because they don’t really believe in the value of their talent. More often, the inattention to talent is because of a lack of understanding of how to truly manage talent to unleash its value. On top of this, many organizations are handcuffed by policies and procedures that have been inherited from the last century (or, in some cases, the century before that). In short, we are managing organizations in the Talent Age using principles handed down from the Industrial Age. While this might be a problem for some organizations, I view this as a tremendous opportunity for those organizations that can effectively manage talent.

In Strategy-Driven Talent Management, Rob Silzer and Ben Dowell define talent management as, “an integrated set of processes, programs, and cultural norms in an organization designed and implemented to attract, develop, deploy, and retain talent to achieve strategic objectives and meet future business needs.” The burgeoning field of talent management is intended to help organizations make better decisions about the most effective ways to maximize the value that can be derived from the talented employees it can attract and employ.

The ability to develop an “integrated set of processes” has proven to be challenging due to the large and complex nature of our organizations and because most companies have not focused on talent in an organized and integrated manner. Those organizations that have successfully developed effective talent management programs and procedures have a distinct competitive advantage. This book is intended to help organizations understand how to focus on talent and develop effective talent practices.

The setting for the book is a fictional company. All of the characters are fictional. However, all of the events are based on real cases. Every story related in these pages is based on actual organizational practices that I have witnessed or had described to me. Most of the scenarios are not based on isolated incidents—they are stories that have been repeated time and time again.

As you read this book, you may find that many of the characters and events seem familiar. That is by intent. Many of the practices described here are commonplace. At times you might even think the story is based on your own organization (and it’s entirely possible that it is). So even though the setting is fictional, the practices described in the story are very real. And, most importantly, the Talent Management Principles presented by the story’s protagonist are best practices used by organizations to combat the ineffective and counterproductive talent practices that plague many organizations.

And so I prefer to define Talent Management more simply. To me, Talent Management is a series of practices managers use to maximize the value from an organization’s most valuable asset—talented people.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

I hope you enjoy the stories in this book. But more than that, I hope you find them useful. If you feel that some of the practices described in this book are descriptive of your organization, think about whether they are actually helping or hindering. And if they are a hindrance, give some thought as to what you can do to change things. If the events of a chapter are unfamiliar, think about what you can do to help your organization avoid some of these pitfalls.

At the conclusion of each chapter, there are two groups of questions for you to consider. The first set is an Organizational Assessment. These questions ask about talent practices that are currently in place in your organization. You are asked to determine the extent to which your organization employs certain practices. If you tend to agree with a statement, your organization is doing well regarding that practice. However, if you find yourself giving a lot of scores of 1 or 2 in response to the Organizational Assessment questions, then your organization probably has some practices in place that do not effectively manage talent. This can be a call to action.

The other set of questions are Reflection Questions. These open-ended questions are about you. As people have shared with me stories of their organization’s practices, they frequently do so with a mixture of frustration and helplessness. If you’re not the CEO or chief people officer of your organization, perhaps you’re not in a position to make sweeping policy changes. However, you are probably in a position to do something. So the Reflection Questions ask about your own personal practices and, most importantly, about what you can do. Many of these questions ask specifically about what actions you can take regarding the Talent Management Principle described in the preceding chapter. I encourage you to think about these questions and take action.

I believe I am required by international law to have at least one quote from Peter Drucker in a book like this, so here it goes: “The ability to make good decisions about people represents one of the last reliable sources of competitive advantage, since so few organizations are very good at it.” This was true when Drucker wrote it more than 50 years ago and it is still true today. And therein lies the opportunity for readers of this book.

It is my sincere hope that after reading this book, you will have figured out some actions you can take to help your organization unleash greater value from its talent, achieve its goals, and gain the competitive advantage that Drucker described over a half-century ago.