New research highlights how important the idea of “talent” has become in the business world.  It is no longer a concern of the more progressive HR departments; trends indicate that it has become a key business issue that executives are paying close attention to. 

An annual survey of executives by the Aberdeen Group shows that over the past year talent planning has risen from tenth to second on the list of top ten business issues that companies are facing today.  This is really striking to me.  What I’ve encountered, however, is that executives can’t agree on what “talent”  really mean (beyond a superficial synonym for “our people”).

What do you think-why do we have trouble defining talent?