Talent Era: Achieving a High Return on Talent by Subir Chowdhury

• Hardcover: 195 pages
• Publisher: Diane Pub Co (September 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756790670
• ISBN-13: 978-0756790677
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces

 Talent Era: Achieving a High Return on Talent by Subir Chowdhury (Sep 30, 2002)

Review

"You may not think of yourself as "talent" someone deserving of all the attention that those superstars get. After you read Subir Chowdhury's The Talent Era you'll change your mind. Everyone of us is gifted in some way, and everyone of us will find Chowdhury's messages extraordinarily beneficial in developing our careers and in living our lives. Organizational leaders must take Chowdhury's lessons to heart. Organizations will soar when every employee is treated the way Chowdhury convincingly argues they should be. This book is profoundly important to moving beyond present challenges and creating organizations that are alive with creativity, energy, and enthusiasm."James M. Kouzes, Co-author The Leadership Challenge and Chairman-emeritus, Tom Peters Company"In times of crisis, managing a meritocracy is critical. A company must have the best talent, and it must rise to the top. Chowdhury's The Talent Era tells just how to make that happen." James Champy,Chairman of Consulting, Perot Systems , Co-author, Reengineering the Corporation"It is not very often that a book comes along that shakes your assumptions about people management and how it works. Subir Chowdhury's The Talent Era is that kind of book: powerful and brilliant. At a time when Talent is the scarcest and most costly resource for most organizations, this book provides insights as to how you can maximize your investment and potential in your people. All managers and leaders should read this book!" Bob Nelson, Author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, and Please Don't Just Do What I Tell You! Do What Needs to Be Done"This is an extraordinarily valuable book. Chowdhury does an amazing job of spelling out how to handle the biggest challenge facing all managers these days: getting, keeping and maximizng the value of talented people. His simple, easy to follow, common-sense but not common-practice ideas are pure gold. This is must reading for any leader in any organization." James A. Belasco, Ph.D., Best-selling Author, Teaching the Elephant to Dance, Flight of the Buffalo, Soaring with the Phoenix, Ten Commandments of Success. Executive Director, Financial Times Knowledge Dialogue "Subir Chowdhury has hit the nail on the head with this book that focuses on the value of talent in any organization today. Management has always had to deal with talented people, but heretofore, they have been focusing on how to keep such talented individuals from causing too much disruption to the rest of the organization. Today, our focus needs to be more on how to move the rest of the organization to benefit from such constructive disruption, which is necessary in today's fast-changing and competitive environment."J. D. Power III Chairman and Founder, J. D. Power and Associates"Subir Chowdhury's The Talent Era is a 'must read' for any human resource professional or line manager who is challenged by the talent issues in the workplace. Chowdhury explains, in a most 'make sense' way, the essential ingredients for recognizing, rewarding, and utilizing talent in today's economy. This book is a critical manual for remaining competitive in the marketplace."Dr. Beverly Kaye ,President and Founder, Career Systems International, Co-Author, Love'em or Lose'Em: Getting Good People to Stay "The Talent Era does what no one has done before - quantify, measure and place an analytic and financially recognizable process onto the subjective and vague subject of Talent. Subir Chowdhury has done it again - a must-have for any company on the cutting edge of innovation".Larraine Segil, Author, Intelligent Business Alliances and FastAlliances: Power your E-business" "People are the most important resource of any organisation. Recruiting, developing and keeping talented people is a formula for success. Chowdhury provides the leader with a special insight inhto the whys and how to of accomplishing this important task."C. William Pollard, Chairman, The ServiceMaster Company (7.7 billion dollar company)"Subir Chowdhury has done it again! The Talent Era confirms Chowdhury is one of the most practical thought leaders in business today. The Talent Era is the guidebook for talent management in our new world."Marshall Goldsmith, Co-Founder, Financial Times Knowledge Dialogue, Co-Editor, The Leader of the Future and Coaching for Leadership. Named one of Forbes' five top executive coaches and a Wall Street Journal "Top 10" executive educator."Attracting and retaining talent is the most important issue for business leaders today. Chowhury's book identifies intelligent responses to these daunting organisational challenges. Those organisations valuing and respecting 'human capital' will have a vast head start in creating cultures that can withstand the turmoil of today's chaotic and unpredictable economy."Stuart R.Levine, Chairman & CEO, Stuart Levine & Associates LLC, Former CEO, Dale Carnegie & Associates Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Talent is the true engine of the next economy. Talented people aren't simply ''knowledge workers''; they're free agents, capable of bringing enormous value to the organizations they are part of. Organizations that want to maximize the value of talent need to act in radically new ways. In this book, world-renowned quality strategist Subir Chowdhury presents a powerful new blueprint for recognizing talent, rewarding it, & making the most of it. He reveals the 7 key secrets of talent, then shows managers exactly how to measure Return on Talent (ROT) -- & exactly how to enhance it. He also shows talented individuals exactly how to maximize their own talents -- & maximize the rewards those talents can earn.

From the Back Cover

Talent is the true engine of the next economy.
Talented people aren't simply "knowledge workers": they're free agents, capable of bringing enormous value to the organizations they are part of. And they know it.
Organizations who want to maximize the value of talent need to act in radically new ways. In this book, world-renowned quality strategist Subir Chowdhury presents a powerful new blueprint for recognizing talent, rewarding it, and making the most of it.
Chowdhury reveals the seven key secrets of talent, then shows managers exactly how to measure Return on Talent (ROT)—and exactly how to enhance it. He also shows talented individuals exactly how to maximize their own talents—and maximize the rewards those talents can earn.
Why talents so often go unrecognized Overcoming obsolete metrics, reward systems, and mindsets It's not just money Competitive salaries are only one part of the solution Leading talented people The new role of managers in the talent-driven organization 7 great ways to leverage talent Magnifying the value of your best people Introducing the "Talent Scorecard" Quantifying talent—so you can identify, recruit, retain, and nurture it Encouraging managers to encourage talent What managers do when they are threatened by talentMaximizing your #1 marketplace differentiator: talented people.

• The 7 secrets of talent
• The new talent value chain
• The talent scorecard: measuring and enhancing ROT
• Breakthrough approaches to recognizing and rewarding talent
• Optimizing your own talents—and reaping the rewards!

Talented people are the lifeblood of the profitable, innovative enterprise.
Talented people have choices. They can go anywhere. They're free agents—no less than ballplayers or movie stars.
This book is about helping you attract them. Keep them. And make the most of them.
World-renowned quality strategist Subir Chowdhury presents a complete strategy for leveraging talent to increase business value. Chowdhury focuses on the real issues facing organizations seeking to utilize talent more effectively. You'll discover why there's more to attracting talent than inflating salaries, how managers handle talented subordinates, how to measure the value of talent and ROT, and much more.
From start to finish, The Talent Era gives you the tools you need to maximize your #1 marketplace differentiator: talent.
ADVANCE PRAISE for The Talent Era
"It is not very often that a book comes along that shakes your assumptions about people management and how it works. Subir Chowdhury's The Talent Era is that kind of book: powerful and brilliant. At a time when Talent is the scarcest and most costly resource for most organizations, this book provides insights as to how you can maximize your investment and potential in your people. All managers and leaders should read this book!" ----Bob Nelson
Best-selling Author, 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, Please Don't Just Do What I Tell You! Do What Needs to Be Done
"People are the most important resource of any organization. Recruiting, developing and keeping talented people is a formula for success. Chowdhury provides the leader with a special insight into the whys and how to of accomplishing this important task." -----C. William Pollard
Chairman, The ServiceMaster Company
"In times of crisis, managing a meritocracy is critical. A company must have the best talent, and it must rise to the top. Chowdhury's The Talent Era tells just how to make that happen." -----James Champy
Chairman of Consulting, Perot Systems Co-author, Reengineering the Corporation
"Subir Chowdhury has hit the nail on the head with this book that focuses on the value of talent in any organization today. Management has always had to deal with talented people, but heretofore, they have been focusing on how to keep such talented individuals from causing too much disruption to the rest of the organization. Today, our focus needs to be more on how to move the rest of the organization to benefit from such constructive disruption, which is necessary in today's fast-changing and competitive environment." -----J. D. Power III
Chairman and Founder, J. D. Power and Associates
"Subir Chowdhury has done it again! The Talent Era confirms Chowdhury is one of the most practical thought leaders in business today. The Talent Era is the guidebook for talent management in our new world." -----Marshall Goldsmith
Co-Founder, Financial Times Knowldege Dialogue Co-Editor, The Leader of the Future and Coaching for Leadership Named one of Forbes' five top executive coaches and a Wall Street Journal "Top 10" executive educator
"You may not think of yourself as "talent" someone deserving of all the attention that those superstars get. After you read Subir Chowdhury's The Talent Era you'll change your mind. Everyone of us is gifted in some way, and everyone of us will find Chowdhury's messages extraordinarily beneficial in developing our careers and in living our lives. Organizational leaders must take Chowdhury's lessons to heart. Organizations will soar when every employee is treated the way Chowdhury convincingly argues they should be. This book is profoundly important to moving beyond present challenges and creating organizations that are alive with creativity, energy, and enthusiasm." -----James M. Kouzes
Co-author, The Leadership Challenge Chairman-emeritus, Tom Peters Company
"Attracting and retaining talent is the most important issue for business leaders today. Chowdhury's book identifies intelligent responses to these daunting organizational challenges. Those organizations valuing and respecting 'human capital' will have a vast head start in creating cultures that can withstand the turmoil of today's chaotic and unpredictable economy." -----Stuart R. Levine
Chairman & CEO, Stuart Levine & Associates LLC Former CEO, Dale Carnegie and Associates, Inc.
"This is an extraordinarily valuable book. Chowdhury does an amazing job of spelling out how to handle the biggest challenge facing all managers these days: getting, keeping and maximizing the value of talented people. His simple, easy to follow, common-sense but not common-practice ideas are pure gold. This is must reading for any leader in any organization." -----James A. Belasco
Best-selling Author, Teaching the Elephant to Dance and Flight of the Buffalo
"Subir Chowdhury's The Talent Era is a 'must read' for any human resource professional or line manager who is challenged by the talent issues in the workplace. Chowdhury explains, in a most 'make sense' way, the essential ingredients for recognizing, rewarding, and utilizing talent in today's economy. This book is a critical manual for remaining competitive in the marketplace." -----Beverly Kaye
President and Founder, Career Systems International Co-Author, Love'em or Lose'Em: Getting Good People to Stay
"The Talent Era does what no one has done before - quantify, measure and place an analytic and financially recognizable process onto the subjective and vague subject of Talent. Subir Chowdhury has done it again - a must-have for any company on the cutting edge of innovation." -----Larraine Segil
Author, Intelligent Business Alliances and FastAlliances: Power your E-business
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

SUBIR CHOWDHURY is Executive Vice President of the American Supplier Institute headquartered in Livonia, Michigan. Hailed by the New York Times as a ''leading quality expert,'' Chowdhury's most recent international best-selling books include The Power of Six Sigma and Management 21C: Someday We'll All Manage This Way. His work is frequently cited in the national and international media.
Chowdhury lives with his wife, Malini, and daughter, Anandi, in Novi, Michigan.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction: Welcome to the Talent Era

It was late 1969, and the Amazing Mets had just won the World Series. The United States was in a turbulent time. The civil rights movement, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, and the moon landing dominated the headlines. Riots had erupted across the country; music, theater, movies, and TV shows explored uncensored territory; and, yes, the Mets had won. The world had turned upside-down. But of all those events in the late sixties, the one that might seem inconsequential had one of the biggest impacts in the long term. You see, it was the Mets rather than the Cardinals who won the National League championship.
Throughout the 1960s, the Cardinals had been a powerhouse. In 1969, the Cardinals had won three of the previous five years and were expected to win again. They had Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, and several other fine players. But the Cardinals had been ruled with an iron fist, and one outstanding player voiced a complaint that had been brewing for years. Curt Flood was one of the greats: He was a three-time all-star, played a record 226 games without an error, was awarded seven Gold Gloves, and was a lifetime .293 hitter in an era when pitchers dominated. With Flood, the Cards had won three National League pennants and two World Series. It was his eleventh year in the league in 1969. Whereas Flood was making $90,000 at the time, many players were making less than $10,000. Under baseball's reserve clause—which had been in effect in one form or another since the game began—a team owned a player. If a player would not sign an agreement with his team, he had the option of quitting baseball, but he could not play for another team. Players were traded from team to team, sometimes against their wishes. This was the way it was, and, although many had grumbled about it, no one had tried to buck the system. But after losing the pennant in 1969, the Cards, who viewed Flood as a troublemaker despite his obvious skills, decided to trade him to the Phillies. Flood refused to go and on January 16, 1970, filed a lawsuit claiming that the reserve clause violated the antitrust act and should be eliminated. In the end, Flood lost the suit. He sat out the 1970 season and was traded to the Washington Senators in 1971. After thirteen games, he decided the atmosphere was too difficult and retired from the game. But the damage had been done—Flood's suit had broken the dam. In 1975 it was official: Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally won their case against the reserve clause, and free agency was born.
In 1976, the average baseball player received eight times what the average person received in compensation. By 1994, baseball salaries had reached fifty times the average salary. Free agency had changed the game, other sports, and everyone's perception of what a worker was worth. No longer were wages a suppressed topic that management dictated. Curt Flood cut his career short based on his conviction that he was in effect a slave to baseball and that he should be free to go out and seek whatever employment he could. He had seen the impact of free agency not only on the game of baseball, but also in every walk of life.
But Flood had opened up the gates. His action opened a new era—an era when people evaluate their own talent and expect to get what they are worth. At first, it was confined to sports. Basketball players quickly figured out that there are only five guys out there generating a lot of revenue, and so they ought to be paid for it. Football followed suit. Soon each top tennis player, each top golfer, each top player in any sport is a very visible Talent (in this book we will capitalize the word Talent when referring to a person with talent).
It should be pointed out that in the entertainment business, Talents have always been paid much more than others in their craft. It used to be that the studios ruled and had their actors under contract, much as did Major League Baseball. But there was generally the possibility that another studio would pick up the renegade actor. It was Cary Grant who actually bucked the studio system, but the repercussions of his actions were confined to the entertainment industry and did not affect the world at large.

Not Just Sports and Entertainment Anymore

Just as athletes and entertainers had felt the effects of free agency early, in the 1990s talented workers in many other fields began to understand their real worth to their organizations. Management may have known it all along: All workers are free agents. Companies tried for years to foster the feeling that people were there to work for life, and they would be paid whatever management felt like giving them—and they would have to take it. It was as if a self-imposed reserve clause existed. Management tried to build loyalty by dispensing more incentives, but this system began to break down as more people started to see themselves as Talent, as free agents who should receive more if they produced more.
Ironically, corporations often foolishly broke the bond of trust through massive layoffs and an indifferent attitude toward their employees. Even IBM, which typified the "you are here for life" attitude, was among the first in the "lay off people to boost your stock price" movement of the 1980s. This seemingly callous attitude toward employees was headline news, but it happened so regularly that by the 1990s, work for many people had become a place to go simply to make money—it was no longer a home away from home. Loyalty was a zero-sum game. It was not unusual to see people moving every year to a new job, enabled by the Internet and other information technologies. With the growth in the economy, new ventures opened up every day. It was a time to keep your eyes open for new opportunity.
When the big Internet blitz hit, getting into the game early often meant millions of dollars. Getting the best Talent to generate the best ideas and products meant future market domination. Suddenly, all in-demand workers were like free agents. The stories of Steve Ballmers of Microsoft driving up to the front door of Borland with million-dollar signing bonus checks for Borland's key Talents—and then driving away with them—may or may not be true, but many of these people now work for Microsoft. The so-called "Talent war" was on.
Although the "war" may have ended, today we are still in the midst of the Talent Era. People are more aware than ever of their value to their company. So, management must now identify its key Talents, attract more Talents, grow Talents, manage and motivate Talents, and keep Talents. Success depends on these Talent management skills.
This book will teach you all you need to know if you are a Talent, if you manage Talent, or if you hope to optimize the Talent in your organization. This era is defined by a basic change in relationship between employees and companies. Most employees today have lost their dedication to their company. In the face of increased layoffs and the fact that employees will change jobs if another "situation" looks better, any company that wants to be successful needs to adapt, to anticipate losing Talent, to foster more Talent, to try to keep the Talent it has, and to make sure this Talent is utilized to the fullest. Those less-talented employees, including many knowledge workers, may still be vital to keep the company going, but they need to be compensated differently.
That is a key tenet of this book—that top Talents should be compensated commensurate with their contributions and that companies must adapt to this framework to succeed. Because Talent can be found at any level, if you are paying everyone what you pay to keep Talent, you will quickly find yourself in an untenable position. Likewise, if you are a talented person, you want to work for a company that will recognize your ability and not tell you that everyone at your level gets treated the same—even if you are doing the work of three people or have just developed the product that will save the company.
In the Talent Era, the "flood gates" are open. Just as most athletes and entertainers would not want to go back to the old days, most talented business employees would not want to go back to lifetime employment contracts. Companies can do a lot more to keep Talent, but after the ideals of self-determination, capitalism, and freedom to choose are embraced by people, companies must adapt to the situation at hand. Tough decisions need to be made. Talent-friendly policies and practices may be the difference between success and failure. The Talent Era clearly won't end anytime soon. And so, every manager needs to understand the implications.

The Effects of Free Agency

Team owners know that people go to games to watch the marquee players. Look at the interest that was generated in baseball by the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home run race and again with Barry Bonds. Even more intense is the attention garnered by Tiger Woods in golf. Tiger has put excitement back into golf. Throughout the history of sports, there have always been high-impact players, the all-stars. The same is true in entertainment. Big names bring in big bucks. Stars sell movies. Bigtime directors and producers like Steven Spielberg or George Lucas put people into the seats. Big-draw names can mean tens of millions in revenue for a single movie. In some sports and most entertainment, however, if you are not a marquee Talent, you may be a poor, starving artist.
But in baseball, even the worst players make exceptional money—and that is where management made its mistake. The owners' initial reaction to free agency was predictable: They went out and bid up the cost of the good players, and thus their payrolls shot up. The money spent for the best players became a draw in and of itself. The owners with the most money tended to win the most games. But to make up for their monetary losses, the owners increased ticket prices, boosted advertising and promotions in the ballparks, licensed souvenirs with their logos, and negotiated more lucrative TV contracts.
If baseball owners had paid their stars commensurate with their contributions and left it at that, then we might say that these were smart business decisions needed to compete and fill stadium seats. But, baseball owners failed to understand the difference between Talent and knowledge workers, between stars and utility players. People go to the game, read the paper, watch the news, view sports shows, and listen to radio shows to keep up with the players who win games through their ability. They are worth more money. The difference between a star and an average player is substantial. Average players can be easily replaced. Where owners make their mistake—in sports and in business—is when they start paying average players substantially more. The median baseball salary is now over $1 million. Eventually, this "salary creep" spreads to players who could be replaced by any of dozens of minor leaguers who are getting paid substantially less.
Minimum salary levels have skyrocketed since free agency began. The impact has been highly inflationary. Owners could contract most players for much less, but they seem not to understand: Treat your stars differently. Why should a fifth-place team be paying a mediocre pitcher $5 million to lose fifteen games? Obviously, you try to do your best, but the return on your investment needs to be there.

The Impact of Unions

The labor unions in baseball gained great power with the advent of free agency. The threat and the actuation of strikes had a major impact on the agreements between owners and players. Indeed, the union is a major reason for the high minimum salary now afforded to baseball's weakest players. So far, baseball owners have afforded the costs, in part by raising prices and taking smaller profits. They have bowed to union demands. Other sports unions, especially in basketball and football, have had similar success, based largely on the visibility of the Talent.
But unions have had little impact on the highest salaries paid to the stars. In fact, in most sports, unions have somewhat suppressed the money available to stars in favor of utility players. The unions' work is largely based on raising minimums—and getting the stars to go along.
So, we might suppose that unionization might be the best approach for workers in general and perhaps even for Talent. Unions have historically fought for minimum wage levels, treating employees at certain levels equally, and demanding benefits. If a corporation is unionized, it may be hesitant to offer employees new
incentives, fearing that they may become permanent and more widespread. Certainly, offering employees at a given level more than other employees at that level is likely to signal to a union that the corporation is in a position to pay more for those employees. A corporation may become reluctant to offer new programs to keep Talents, especially if it is in a competitive market where increases in costs might jeopardize the corporation. By mandating pay scales and quotas, unions may hamper management's ability to treat Talent differently. In fact, unionization generally forces companies not to respond to the needs of Talent, and so the best Talents leave. Over time, this breeds mediocrity and failure. With no one putting pressure on salaries, everyone remains on the low end, and the corporation remains flat and uncompetitive.
In essence, where unions succeeded in baseball, they could fail in a competitive marketplace. The unions took advantage of the Talents' increase in salaries to drive up the salaries of the utility players in baseball. The lesson to the unions here is to allow the Talents to get the increases and hope that those increases will drive the salary levels of all workers. If unions push for the best people to get paid better and argue that their workers should be compensated in line with any other worker, as has happened in sports, they may get the best of both worlds. This seems unlikely to happen, and so unionization may stifle the upward salary movement that is being generated in the Talent Era.

The End Game

Indeed, in 2001, the strong demand for Talent over the past three years resulted in major wage increases. The pressure on salaries for Talent is driving salaries up for everyone. Clearly, corporations are feeling the pressure from the Talent and are reacting as many owners of sports teams have—by paying more for everyone.
If business owners let themselves or unions dictate universal salary structures, then corporations, in defending key Talent, will be forced to boost the salary structures for everyone. This is what happened in professional sports, and it is happening in almost every corporation worldwide. The effect is that much of the workforce is becoming overpaid. In economic downturns, this portends massive layoffs. In turn, a company then does not have the knowledge workers it needs and is hampered by insufficient staffing. Every corporation should want its employees to be compensated properly in relation to their return on investment. If Talent is not compensated differently, the inflationary model will grip the company, resulting in seasonal layoffs, lower profits, failures, or higher prices.
Recent articles have exposed the enormous sums of money compensating the heads of the major companies. Disney's calamities with payment to their chief executives and enormous parachutes also bring on an array of questions about what is just compensation. In baseball, the $25 million per year being paid to Alex Rodriguez has come under close scrutiny, especially in light of the collapse of the Texas Rangers who pay it. Most headlines are grabbed at the CEO level, and most compensation is going to that level, whether the CEO is a Talent or not. Under what circumstances is agreeing to a golden parachute an intelligent business decision?
Clearly, most people are not paid what they contribute to a corporation. Corporations have costs other than salaries, benefits, and travel expenses. Overhead, profits, plant, and many other costs associated with a corporation factor in. Some corporations derive their revenues and most of their activities from people, for example, a consulting company. Others are so highly automated that they need very few employees to generate large sales volumes. Clearly, most companies fall somewhere in between. Most have little idea what most of their employees contribute. Hiring decisions are made based on need and the grade level of the employee needed. The actual contribution of the employee is unknown but is expected to be above some minimum guidelines. For instance, the new employee might be required to generate sales in excess of ten times salary. Managers often hear employees complain that they should receive what they deliver to the company. They are partly right. They should receive compensation in line with the company's return on investment in them. I call that "return on Talent," and I dedicate a full chapter in this book to defining return on Talent and how to measure it. Practically speaking, it would be impossible to measure every employee's return on Talent. You need to choose wisely those people whom you believe to be talented and evaluate their impact to make sure they are being compensated properly.

What Do We Mean by "Talents"?

Talents are the relatively few people who contribute the most to the organization who need to be recognized, nurtured, and leveraged to maximize the positive results only they can achieve. They are different. They are the stars, and they need to be treated like stars. They contribute more and need to be compensated more than the knowledge workers. The notions of giving "pay for performance" and identifying exceptional contributors as "high-potential" employees (hi-pos) are not new. Indeed, they are common practice. Many corporations have been trying to manage the challenges of identifying the strongest contributors and treating them differently without creating excessive discontent in the rest of the workforce.
Corporations need to learn to deal with free agency without going broke by treating employees as customers. After all, as a hiring manager, you are trying to get Talent to buy what you are offering and then to develop loyalty with ongoing customer care to retain Talent. And just as corporations are increasingly segmenting high-valued customers for special attention, perhaps it is time to segment high-valued employees (customers) for special treatment.
Compensation should not be assumed as the primary factor in attracting and retaining Talent. Money is a big factor for some, but not for others. Talents have visions, purposes, and values. Coworkers, bosses, daily work environment, and opportunity to make big differences and to win at the game of business attract Talents as much or more than does money. Fair compensation is certainly a maintenance factor. Inadequate compensation is a disincentive. Excessive compensation does not guarantee happiness of Talent. The joy of work is a central factor in the productivity and satisfaction of Talents, and indeed of all workers from top to bottom in any organization.

Why This Book?

This book will:

• Help you see why you must treat Talent differently from most knowledge workers
• Tell how to measure return on Talent (ROT)
• Show how to maximize yourself and others as Talent
• Provide key elements of a Talent-friendly organization
• Suggest what is needed to attract, hire, keep, and best utilize Talent
• Tell how to leverage the Talent on your team
• Reveal the seven secrets of Talent

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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Career Advancement - Paperback (Jan. 6, 2009) by Marc Dorio

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Part 1: Why Make a Move and Why Make It Now

Chapter 1: How To Test Your Readiness

Chapter 2: Move Up, Over or Out?

Chapter 3: It's Not Just A Feeling

Chapter 4: What Is Your Boss Telling You?

Chapter 5: Take Your Employer's Temperature

Part 2: Begin with Yourself

Chapter 6: Why Take Stock of Yourself

Chapter 7: Beginning Your Self-Assessment

Chapter 8: Brush Up Your Basic Skills

Chapter 9: Analyze Your Personal Style

Chapter 10: Chart Your Communication Style

Chapter 11: Identify Your Leadership Style

Chapter 12: Assessing Your Accomplishments

Chapter 13: It's Not Just the Money

Part 3: Putting Assessment Information to Work

Chapter 14: Developing Your Personal Profile

Chapter 15: Discover Your "Helps" and "Hinders"

Part 4: Finding the Information You Need

Chapter 16: Develop Your Job Search Information Checklist

Chapter 17: Find the Information That Will Help

Chapter 18: Looking Close to Home

Chapter 19: Sources Most People Overlook

Chapter 20: What Your Employer Doesn't Way You to Know

Chapter 21: How To See Yourself in the Big Picture

Chapter 22: Money and Other Things

Part 5: Setting Your Milestones for Success

Chapter 23: Your Career Strategies and Tactics

Chapter 24: Don't Take This Personally, But...

Chapter 25: Career Planning Is a Family Affair

Chapter 26: Keeping Your Eye on the Ball

Chapter 27: Overcoming the Obstacles in Your Path

Chapter 28: Questions You Should Ask

Chapter 29: Moving On - Literally!

Chapter 30: The Self-Employment Wild Card

Chapter 31: The Perfect Job

Index

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Alpha; Original edition (January 6, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1592578322

ISBN-13: 978-1592578320

The step-by-step guide for everyone who ever said, "I really need a new career."

People change jobs to advance their careers, earn more money, or escape a dead end. But often they're responding to misleading signals that aren't reliable indicators for job change. Now a human resources expert helps readers evaluate the reasons they may want to change jobs and careers-an enlightening process that can result in a brand-new career or a better appreciation of the one at hand.

*Explore the job-search sources most people ignore

*Career-profile comparisons and salary and compensation information

*Develop short- and long-term goals-move up, over, or out

About the Author

Marc Dorio is a human resources management professional with over 25 years of corporate and consulting experience. He has worked with Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies on a wide range of human resource issues. He is the author of six books, including The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to the Perfect Interview (1st and 2nd editions) and The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to Getting the Job You Want (1st and 2nd editions).

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Table of Contents:-
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Introduction
Round One: Understand the Cost of Hiring Recklessly
Round Two: Become a Proactive Recruiter
Round Three: Create a Potent Interview Structure
Round Four: Ask Tough Interview Questions
Round Five: Effectively Check References
Round Six: How to Use Predictive Testing Hiring Profiles
Round Seven: How to Get New Hires Off to a Great Start
Round Eight: How to Retain Eagles Once You Find Them
Round Nine: Differentiate Your Employees for Development and Retention
Round Ten: Knockout Summary for Follow Through
Bibliography
Index

The Headhunter's Edge by Jeffrey E. Christian

The Headhunter's Edge - Hardcover (Aug. 27, 2002) by Jeffrey E. Christian

The Talent War by Kerry Larkan

The Talent War: How to Find and Retain the Best People for Your Company by Kerry Larkan

Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish, 2007
ISBN: 9812613072, 9789812613073




Firnando Chau Review


Table of Contents:-
Foreword
Introduction
Finding Talent
Cost vs Benefits
Recruiting for Sustainable Success
Retaining the Best People
Developing Better Communication
The Right Character and Shared Values
Vision and Values
Developing a "Good Boss" Culture
Self Mastery
People are All Different - Aren't Thye?
Dealing with Difference
Getting through the Storm
Conclusion
Interview with Noble
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Appendix 4


--


About the Book


The Talent War addresses the growing problem faced by managers and bosses over the difficulty of finding and retaining talented employees in this day and age. As Kerry Larkan rightly points out, a rapidly aging population will trigger critical skill shortages and companies will increasingly have to fight harder than ever to attract and keep the best people for their company. 


In The Talent War, Kerry Larkan looks at some of the most successful companies with high retention rates and conducts interviews with key managerial figures to understand their policies and attitudes towards hiring and nurturing staff. The Talent War demonstrates, step by step, how to hire the right people (with the right values and character) for your company, how to get the most out of them and how to encourage them to stay!


Foreword (from the book)


The notion that modern business corporations will face an increasingly uphill task in attracting and retaining talented individuals in their company is foreshadowed brilliantly in The Talent War.  Changing demographic trends and a manifestly different workforce with different value systems are the context within which 21st century companies must operate.  For employers, the message is clear: Being a "Good Boss" can no longer be a matter of personal choice or whim.  


In The Talent War, Kerry Larkan demonstrates how real, tangible economic benefits can be derived from being an "employer of choice".  The book sets out clearly and conciesely the sort of company policies and employer practices that must be in place in order to create an ideal workplace for employees, and ensure that the best people will want to join and remain in the company.  The Talent War is an essential read for every employer, manager or potential boss.


Dr. R. Palan (Ph.D.) - CEO, SMR Technologies


About the Author



In 2004 Kerry Larkan launched the bold new concept of Good Boss ~ Bad Boss ® to the business world after completing a major piece of research on Staff Loyalty and Winning the Talent War.

He has since published two books, The Talent War and Winning the Talent War, both of which continue to be successful throughout Australia and the Asia Pacific, particularly Hong Kong where Kerry was based from 2005 to 2009.

Kerry Larkan is frequently interviewed by the Asian media as an expert on staff retention. He has written a series of articles for the South China Morning Post on Good and Bad Bosses, and contributes to a range of magazines and online publications.

He also produces regular white papers, blogs and commentary on a wide range of issues including Hiring and Retaining Talent.

How to Think Like a CEO by D. A. Benton

How to Think Like a CEO: The 22 Vital Traits You Need to Be the Person at the Top by D. A. Benton (Paperback - May 1, 1999)


From getAbstract.com

• Why perseverance ranks among the most important qualities for a CEO
• What eight qualities near-perfect CEOs have
• Why being kind to others is not a sign of weakness

Author Debra A. Benton discusses how chief executive officers succeed. She bases her information on interviews with hundreds of major corporations’ CEOs and with well-known leaders and public figures. The experiences of so many CEOs make the book fascinating. Readers will be intrigued by the many success stories. Benton also extrapolates and explains the key principles behind the success of these executives. The book is an excellent, well-written guide that includes some well-known success principles and some that may be less well-known. The short, snappy, easy-to-read style is accessible. A helpful summary at the end of each chapter captures the major principles covered. getabstract.com recommends this book to those on the way up in management, those interested in getting into management, and those who wish to apply these principles of success in their own careers.

About the author

Debra A. Benton, the head of Benton Management Resources, provides advice and expertise in professional development to CEOs and their managers. She previously wrote Lions Don’t Need to Roar: Using the Leadership Power of Professional Presence to Stand Out, Fit In and Move Ahead, a book about how effective people think about themselves, others, and life.

The Leader Within by Drea Zigarmi, Ken Blanchard, Michael O'Connor, and Carl Edeburn

The Leader Within: Learning Enough About Yourself to Lead Others by Drea Zigarmi, Ken Blanchard, Michael O'Connor, and Carl Edeburn

My version of the book, 2007, Hardcover, FT Prentice-Hall, ISBN 978-0131-470255

Firnando Chau Review

The contents of this book are in the following order:-
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter One: Leaders and Change
Chapter Two: Personality and Context
Chapter Three: Preference and Disposition
Chapter Four: Beliefs and Points of View
Chapter Five: Perceptions and Persona
Chapter Six: Behaviors and Situations
Chapter Seven: Vision and Learning
Bibliography
Index

 --






Amazon.com Review

About the Book
 
The first step towards becoming an outstanding leader: know yourself. This book will help you understand yourself as a leader... so you can change, grow, and become powerfully more effective. Authored by four world-renowned leadership experts, including the legendary Ken Blanchard, it draws on an extraordinary seven-year research study on how successful corporate executives exert influence. The authors begin by presenting self-change as your must urgent leadership challenge, and showing how your values and personality govern your actions, even when you don't realize it. You'll examine the inner self you're currently bringing to your "moments of influence," discovering how your disposition, values, beliefs, and persona are contributing right now to your success -- or failure. Throughout, the authors present proven, values-based approaches to leadership in both group settings and one-to-one contexts.
 
From the Back Cover

Discover the leader inside you!
* Become the leader you've always wanted to be
* Understand how you behave at your key 'moments of influence'
* Reinvent your approach for better results -- and happier people
* Build more effective teams and organizations, without compromising your values
* Co-authored by Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager

If you lead... if you intend to lead... if you work with leaders... you need this book.
 
* You need it to discover why...
...self-change is your most urgent leadership challenge
...your values, beliefs, and personality are driving your success -- or your failure -- even when you don't realize it

* You need it to discover how to...
... lead brilliantly, in ways that reflect your own values and personality
... connect in both group settings and one-to-one contexts
... liberate personal traits and energies you never knew you had
... rekindle your team's spirit -- and build stronger, more effective, more joyful organizations.

* Liberate the outstanding leader inside you -- with The Leader Within.

How to Be the Person Successful Companies Fight to Keep by Connie Podesta & Jean Gatz

How to Be the Person Successful Companies Fight to Keep: The Insider's Guide to Being Number One in the Workplace by Connie Podesta & Jean Gatz


Firnando Chau Review

Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream by Barbara Ehrenreich

Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream by Barbara Ehrenreich (Hardcover - Jul 25, 2006)

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt; First edition. edition (September 6, 2005)
• ISBN-10: 0805076069
• ASIN: B000GQLD2C

Product Description

Barbara Ehrenreich+s Nickel and Dimed explored the lives of low-wage workers. Now, in Bait and Switch, she enters another hidden realm of the economy: the shadowy world of the white-collar unemployed. Armed with a plausible rŽsumŽ of a professional -in transition,+ she attempts to land a middle-class job-undergoing career coaching and personality testing, then trawling a series of EST-like boot camps, job fairs, networking events, and evangelical job-search ministries. She gets an image makeover, works to project a winning attitude, yet is proselytized, scammed, lectured, and-again and again-rejected.Bait and Switch highlights the people who+ve done everything right-gotten college degrees, developed marketable skills, and built up impressive rŽsumŽs-yet have become repeatedly vulnerable to financial disaster, and not simply due to the vagaries of the business cycle. Today+s ultra-lean corporations take pride in shedding their -surplus+ employees-plunging them, for months or years at a stretch, into the twilight zone of white-collar unemployment, where job searching becomes a full-time job in itself. As Ehrenreich discovers, there are few social supports for these newly disposable workers-and little security even for those who have jobs. Like the now classic Nickel and Dimed, Bait and Switch is alternately hilarious and tragic, a searing exposŽ of economic cruelty where we least expect it. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

Americans’ working lives are growing more precarious every day. Corporations slash employees by the thousands, and the benefits and pensions once guaranteed by “middle-class” jobs are a thing of the past.

In Bait and Switch, Barbara Ehrenreich goes back undercover to explore another hidden realm of the economy: the shadowy world of the white-collar unemployed. Armed with the plausible résumé of a professional “in transition,” she attempts to land a “middle-class” job. She submits to career coaching, personality testing, and EST-like boot camps, and attends job fairs, networking events, and evangelical job-search ministries. She is proselytized, scammed, lectured, and—again and again—rejected.

Bait and Switch highlights the people who have done everything right—gotten college degrees, developed marketable skills, and built up impressive résumés—yet have become repeatedly vulnerable to financial disaster. There are few social supports for these newly disposable workers, Ehrenreich discovers, and little security even for those who have jobs. Worst of all, there is no honest reckoning with the inevitable consequences of the harsh new economy; rather, the jobless are persuaded that they have only themselves to blame.

Alternately hilarious and tragic, Bait and Switch, like the classic Nickel and Dimed, is a searing exposé of the cruel new reality in which we all now live.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Barbara Ehrenreich is the author of thirteen books, including the New York Times bestseller Nickel and Dimed (0-8050-6389-7). A frequent contributor to Harper’s and The Nation, she has been a columnist at The New York Times and
Time magazine. She lives in Virginia.

How to Land Your Dream Job: No Resume! And Other Secrets to Get You in the Door by Jeffrey J. Fox

How to Land Your Dream Job: No Resume! And Other Secrets to Get You in the Door by Jeffrey J. Fox (Hardcover - Dec 20, 2006)

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (December 20, 2006)
• ISBN-10: 1401303048
• ASIN: B001QFZM24

Product Description

A re-titled, repackaged edition of a modern classic in career-buildingWith business bestsellers like How to Become CEO, Jeffrey Fox is unsurpassed when it comes to empowering readers to gain the edge on the competition. But before you can run the company, you have to get your foot in the door -- and in How to Land Your Dream Job, a repackaged, re-titled edition of Don’t Send a Resume, Fox shows how to do exactly that, with invaluable, often counterintuitive advice like:
-Why resumes don’t sell; -Skip the personnel department; -How to research a target company; -Be a fish out of water; -No one cares what you like; -Ask to do a demonstration; -Don’t talk in an interview; -"I" is a bad word.

About the Author

Jeffrey J. Fox is the founder of Fox & Co., a sought-after marketing consulting firm. His bestselling books, including How to Become a Rainmaker and How to Become CEO, have sold more than 750,000 copies and been published in thirty-five languages. A popular speaker for large organizations and groups of senior executives, Fox lives in Connecticut.

From AudioFile

The breadth of this authors common sense and creativity is impressive. Job hunting is marketing oneself, so think of your written inquiries and interviews as sales calls for which you (1) do your homework and (2) tailor everything about your visit to address your interviewers questions and needs. Foxs suggestions for standing out from the crowd are intuitive but seldom used. A highly useful feature of this lesson is the many scripts and role plays he offers for various interview situations and hiring agendas. The authors voice adds a tone of fatherly encouragement to his clear message. Even with his broad knowledge, he manages to understate the power of his ideas and the usefulness of his invitation. T.W. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine 

Take This Book to Work by Tory Johnson & Robyn Spizman

Take This Book to Work: How to Ask for (and Get) Money, Fulfillment, and Advancement by Tory Johnson and Robyn Spizman (Hardcover - Sep, 2006)

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (September 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312358857
• ISBN-13: 978-0312358853

From Publishers Weekly

The value of this book may rest more with the questions it raises than its answers. Following their first collaboration (Women for Hire's Get-Ahead Guide to Career Success), Johnson and Spizman offer women a primer on how to ask for the things that make a career successful—from getting hired to thriving in and advancing in a job. Each clear-cut game plan includes behavioral and conversational tips, workplace insight, pointers on anticipating obstacles and a balance of encouragement with advice on being realistic. When asking for a raise, for example, "base your request... on accomplishments, not personal needs," and keep in mind that the average annual raise in the U.S. is around 4%. The suggested language can be a bit stilted, but provides a useful framework for an actual conversation. A range of "tenacious" female professionals provide "She Asked For It!" sidebar anecdotes of asking and receiving, window-dressing that lends welcome "you-go-girl" inspiration. Because the questions and concrete tactics cut across all stages of a career, this guide should be of interest to anyone who needs help framing requests for what they want or deserve. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Â"This book gives you the most practical and valuable advice for getting exactly what you want and deserve at work.Â"
--Kelly Ripa
Â"So many of us have struggled to find the right words and inspiration to get what we want in the workplace. This book can truly change that for you! No-nonsense, concise, and compelling.Â"
--Robin Roberts, coanchor, Good Morning America
Â"The ultimate guide for nice girls who want to get ahead---practical, engaging, clear, and helpful. Don't miss it!Â"
--Barbara Corcoran, founder of The Corcoran Group and author of If You Don't Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons On Your Pigtails

Product Description

Expert advice from Women For Hire, the leading recruitment services firm for professional women

[front flap]
 [body text]
Asking the essential question at the right moment is a skill, one that any woman can master quickly. And it is a powerful tool that can get women more of everything they want in the workplace. Take This Book to Work identifies questions that every woman should master, with expert advice on each question, including:

* How to ask for the things you really want, such as more responsibility, references, work schedule flexibility, and more
* How to tailor your body language and voice to be at their most persuasive
* Which details will best support your request, and how to organize them most effectively
* What not to ask and why
* And so much more!

This is a user-friendly guide jam-packed with all the guidance every woman needs to approach her next request with courage, confidence, and success.
 

About the Author

Tory Johnson and Robyn Freedman Spizman are the coauthors of Women For Hire's Get-Ahead Guide to Career Success. Johnson is the founder and CEO of Women For Hire, the nation's only producer of high-caliber career expos connecting professional women with leading employers. Johnson is also the Workplace Contributor for ABC News' Good Morning America. She lives in New York City.  Spizman is the author of The Giftionary and Make It Memorable, and a consumer advocate and well-known television and radio personality who lives in Atlanta, Georgia.  Please visit www.womenforhire.com and www.robynspizman.com.

2004 What Color Is Your Parachute?

Perfect Career by Max Eggert

Perfect Career (Perfect) - Paperback - Import (Aug. 7, 2003) by Max Eggert

Corporate Culture and Performance by John P. Kotter (Hardcover - Apr 7, 1992)

Fearless Interviewing: How to Win the Job by Communicating with Confidence by Marky Stein

Fearless Interviewing: How to Win the Job by Communicating with Confidence - Paperback (Dec. 16, 2002) by Marky Stein