Recently we looked at two different approaches to developing talent:  paying premiums in compensation packages and investing in a strong internal culture. 

Yesterday  John Mack, Chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley told his shareholders that he has to pay employees well to keep top talent and grow the business, but he doesn’t see the ability to sustain that into the future.  (more…)

It’s common to think of top talent as people who are just plain smarter than the rest, the really bright people who stand out.  There are obviously some linkages, but they aren’t as hard and fast as they first appear.  Smart people who don’t really apply themselves can’t be classified as top talent.   There is also a case for different talents, not all of which are cognitive.  One reason for the interest in Daniel Goleman’s notion of emotional intelligence is because he explained how many top achievers differentiate themselves because of a particular form of social intelligence or personal mastery, not because of traditional measures of IQ or intelligence.

New discoveries in brain science seem to greet us almost every day.  How the mind and brain work is a fascinating field that just gets more interesting with each new discovery. 

We’re learning about different types of memory, the different regions of the brain where they are stored or accessed, (more…)

What kind of companies tend to keep top talent?  Those that pay a lot or are leaders in their field?  What about those who have an engaging culture?  Let’s take a moment to look at both of those possible answers and see what part culture plays in attracting, developing and retaining top talent. (more…)

I see a lot of hand-wringing going on around me these days.  “What will happen in the economy?”  “When will things get better?”  The causes for worry and uncertainty are endless, but I have a simple way to respond.

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 One of the first people in American business to be paid a salary of a million dollars a year as a professional manager was Charles Schwab.  He was picked by Andrew Carnegie to be the President of United States Steel in 1921 when he was 38 years old.   Why did Andrew Carnegie pay a million dollars a year to Charles Schwab?  

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“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”  Vince Lombardi

Meltdown, bailouts, recession–the last six months have provided quite a crash course in economics for us.  There has been a lot of talk about Wall Street vs. Main Street, as if you could easily separate the two.  The truth is, you can’t.  What is needed right now is a serious capital reinvestment in the economy.  I’m not talking about infusions of cash and liquidity like the Federal Reserve has been attempting.  I’m talking about an investment in human talent. 

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Last week I was in a session with several executives benchmarking a job.   That term is used to describe a number of different activities or approaches, so let me give you an insiders view of what we did.  

Our task was to determine what the organization needed from this job for superior performance (in our case it was the job of President of the company).  We discussed key results that the person filling the role of President was accountable for producing.  When we agreed on the five key results, our assignment next was to “let the job speak”.  (more…)

One thing I’ve observed is that top talent tends to be active in networking.  Whether it is intentional and on-purpose or something that seems to naturally happen, leaders are active in forging and nurturing relationships in an ongoing way. 

If you are a general manager, company owner or executive, you of course need to be active in networking within your industry and in the larger community.  That is part of honing your own edge and staying sharp.  You also need to be aware of what your top talent is doing and how well connected they are.

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I was looking through some notes in my personal development notebook today and I was transported back over ten years ago to an experience I had listening to a development program.

I was living in another town and very early in an entrepreneurial venture, which is another way of saying I didn’t have much money at the time.  I listened to a program by Earl Nightingale, a classic motivational speaker who had already passed away back in 1989.  The program was called Lead the Field and I can still remember being struck by Earl’s statement that the vast majority of people never dedicate themselves to excellence, to leading the field in their chosen endeavor.  Whether that be education, business or social service, most people start with dreams and ideals and then abandon the goal before realizing them. 

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