The Truth about Talent A guide to building a dynamic workforce, realizing potential and helping leaders succeed

Jeremy Kourdi is a writer and business consultant. His experience includes commercial leadership, writing and publishing expertise gained with leading brands, professional institutions and business schools. Clients include The Economist Group, KPMG, HSBC Group, London Business School, IMD, PwC and the Chartered Management Institute. Jeremy has held the post of Senior Vice-President with the Economist Group, leading international teams based in London and Vienna and expanding the conference business of this premium-value brand. He has also work as Head of Publishing and Research at the Chartered Management Institute and has established several successful publishing imprints.

Recognising the talent 'doom loop'.

About our research.

Seven key insights.

How this book is organised.

We Are All Talent Now.

What we mean by talent.

Talent ecology and the truth about talent.

The truth about talent.

We are all talent now.

Talent is abundant and diverse.

The talented are those who generate value, not merely those who can get to the top.

Potential is discretionary.

Growing and engaging talent is at the core of leadership.

HR must reinvent itself to deliver practices for a 'workforce of one'.

Talented people are attracted to talented places.

A New Way of Thinking About Talent.

How organizations think about talent.

What we mean by talent.

How talent management is changing.

A fragmented, fluctuating supply of labour.

From the credit crunch to the capability crunch.

Connected consumption.

Where we are today: the problem with current views of 'talent' in organizations.

The belief that the future can be managed: from succession to scenario planning.

The belief that we can spot our future leaders today (and manage their careers).

The march of the 'high potentials'.

Potential for what?

Being insightful.

Moving beyond the usual suspects....

The rise of discretionary potential.

A more tangible view of talent.

How do you make a difference?

Leadership reflections.

Talent Diversity: You Need to Believe it to See It.

The link between talent and diversity.

Meritocracy and diversity – sources of talent.

Boiled frogs and Chilean potatoes... why diversity is vital.

Diversity – the best way to future-proof your business and avoid homogeneity.

A new war for talent.

Practical actions that will begin making a difference.

Leadership reflections.

Strategy – Beginning With the End in Mind.

Strategy – the first priority.

Future thinking and scenarios.

Why future thinking and scenarios are valuable.

Learning from the past, preparing for the future.

Checklist: using scenario thinking.

Developing strategy.

The essence of successful strategies.

Checklist: developing your strategy.

Implementing strategy.

Communicating strategy.

HR strategy at work.

Strategic tools for HR.

1. Devising the right people strategy.

2. Designing and refining the organization's structure and focus.

3. Influencing and enhancing the culture and environment.

4. Developing future leaders.

5. Understanding critical capabilities.

6. Managing performance and reward.

7. Involving people and increasing satisfaction.

8. Learning and managing knowledge.

9. Staying focused, flexible and managing HR services.

Leadership reflections.

Hire and Wire: Developing Your Organization’s Talent Ecology.

Finding and nurturing talent.

Managing the talent ecology.

The impact of the external market.

The pivotal link with strategy.

Talent – a valuable Trojan horse.

Talent loves talented company

The forgotten role of structure.

From structure chart to social capital.

The importance of networks.

The nature of talented teams.

Adopting new habits.

How culture can make or break a talent strategy.

Digging big holes.

The revenge of the bell curve.

Cultures that attract talent.

Developing the talent ecology

Aiming for a 'fly wheel' effect.

Leadership reflections.

Getting Personal: The Workforce of One.

Bringing your talents to work.

Life just got personal – the trend to mass customization.

The rise of the employer brand.

The value of segmentation.

Understanding memetics.

Segmenting talent.

Techniques for rating performance.

Using employee data.

Getting beneath the Employee Value Proposition.

Leadership reflections.

Engaging With Talent.

Employee engagement: what it is and why it matters.

The benefits of engagement.

What affects employee engagement?

Three-factor theory.

Checklist: connecting employee enthusiasm with business success.

The rule of 150: Gore Associates.

Sears and the service-profit chain.

Creating a climate for engagement.

Understanding what doesn't work.

Getting people engaged.

Questions to help build engagement.

The Meaning of Work.

The importance of meaningful work.

People – more than 'human resources'.

Making work more meaningful.

Leadership reflections.

Twenty-First Century Leadership.

The challenges of 21st century leadership.

Globalisation, interconnectedness and interdependence.

Increasing complexity.

The challenge of growth.

The need for innovation.

Changing attitudes, rising expectations.

Organizations are changing.

Knowledge matters.

A better way to develop leaders.

The business case.

People are the answer (specifically, their head, heart and guts).

A systemic, integrated approach.

Developing and Leading Talented People.

Leading with your heart.

Balance the needs of individuals and the business.

Know yourself and connect emotionally to others.

Stay self-aware.

Develop empathy.

Remain in control.

Understand how your behaviour affects others.

Use different styles of working.

Develop emotional intelligence (EQ).

Inspire trust.

Use visioning to increase collaboration and understanding.

Develop creativity and innovation.

Build a diverse team and empathic approach.

Using intellect, intelligence and insight.

Rethinking.

Reframing.

Focusing on results and getting things done.

Developing and articulating a point of view.

Courageous leadership.

Taking risks with incomplete data.

Balancing risk and reward.

Acting with unyielding integrity.

Communicating.

Understanding your leadership style.

Understanding different leadership styles.

Empowering people.

Coaching and developing people.

Creating a Talent Flywheel.

Appendix: Researching the Truth About Talent.

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.