HBR's 10 Must Reads on Talent (with bonus article "Building a Game-Changing Talent Strategy" by Douglas A. Ready, Linda A. Hill, and Robert J. Thomas)

Description

Invest in your most valuable resource: your people. Top talent is hard to come by. And seeing your stars walk out the door is painful―and expensive. You need to take steps to ensure that you attract, develop, and retain your best people. If you read nothing else on managing talent in your organization, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you boost the engagement, skills, and commitment of your highest performers. This book will inspire you to: Build a winning talent strategy Recruit and hire the best candidates Identify and develop high-potential employees Foster a just and inclusive workplace Overcome the challenges of hybrid work Prepare your workforce for the future This collection of articles includes "Building a Game-Changing Talent Strategy," by Douglas A. Ready, Linda A. Hill, and Robert J. Thomas; "Your Approach to Hiring Is All Wrong," by Peter Cappelli; "'A Players’ or 'A Positions'?: The Strategic Logic of Workforce Management,” by Mark A. Huselid, Richard W. Beatty, and Brian E. Becker; "Turning Potential into Success: The Missing Link in Leadership Development," by Claudio Fernandez-Araoz, Andrew Roscoe, and Kentaro Aramaki; "Making Business Personal," by Robert Kegan, Lisa Lahey, Andy Fleming, and Matthew Miller; "The Power of Hidden Teams," by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall; "The Performance Management Revolution," by Peter Cappelli and Anna Tavis; "People Before Strategy: A New Role for the CHRO," by Ram Charan, Dominic Barton, and Dennis Carey; "Toward a Racially Just Workplace," by Lauren Morgan Roberts and Anthony J. Mayo; "How to Do Hybrid Right," by Lynda Gratton; and "Your Workforce Is More Adaptable Than You Think," by Joseph Fuller, Judith K. Wallenstein, Manjari Raman, and Alice de Chalendar. HBR's 10 Must Reads paperback series is the definitive collection of books for new and experienced leaders alike. Leaders looking for the inspiration that big ideas provide, both to accelerate their own growth and that of their companies, should look no further. HBR's 10 Must Reads series focuses on the core topics that every ambitious manager needs to know: leadership, strategy, change, managing people, and managing yourself. Harvard Business Review has sorted through hundreds of articles and selected only the most essential reading on each topic. Each title includes timeless advice that will be relevant regardless of an ever‐changing business environment. Review: How and why talent development is an organization's cardiovascular system - As you no doubt know already, Harvard Business Review Press publishes several series of anthologies of articles previous published in HBR. This book is one of the most popular volumes in a series that anthologizes what the editors of the Harvard Business Review consider to be “must reads” in a given business subject area. In this instance, talent. Each of the selections is eminently deserving of inclusion. If all of the HBR articles were purchased separately as reprints, the total cost would be about $90 and the practical value of any one of them far exceeds that. Given the fact that desertcart US now sells a paperbound edition for only $2.29. That’s not a bargain. It's a steal. The same is true of volumes in other series such as HBR Guide to…, Harvard Business Review on…, and Harvard Business Essentials. I also think there is great benefit derived from the convenience of having a variety of perspectives and insights readily available in a single volume, one that is potable. According to Douglas A Ready, Linda A. Hill, and Robert J. Thomas, “Our recent research makes clear the importance of creating companies that are guided by a collective sense of purpose. People have always sought meaning in their lives, but we found that a sense of purpose is an overwhelming differentiator in attracting top talent. At the same time, these professionals want opportunities to grow, exciting assignments, and interesting careers. A game-changing talent strategy helps companies provide all these elements." (Page 8) * * * Those who read HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Talent can develop the cutting-edge thinking needed to achieve a decisive competitive advantage. More specifically, they will learn the dos and don’ts with regard to HOW TO o Build a winning talent strategy o Recruit ands hire the best candidates o Identify and develop high-potential employees o Foster a just and inclusive workplace o Overcome the challenges of hybrid work o Prepare your workforce for the future Here are three key points to keep in mind. First, beware of “Whack-a-Mole” decision-making. Be pro-proactive in finding out -- from your customers and peak performers as well as other credible sources -- which unmet needs must be addressed. Also, I again agree with Ready, Hill, and Thomas: "Game-changing organizations build three capabilities simultaneously: They are purpose-driven, performance oriented, and principles-led. We believe that their secret weapon is superior talent strategies characterized by deep commitment from the top executive team, broad-based engagemednt, and line accountability, with a 'leaders developing leaders' culture." (Page 12) Finally, whatever their size and nature may be, all organizations need talent development at ALL levels and in ALL areas of the given enterprise. That is, people who are solution-driven when focusing on a problem’s root causes rather than its symptoms. Peter Drucker nailed it: “There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all.” Review: Good read - This was a good book to read. It offers a different perspective on talent management and development.