The Talent Powered Organization: Strategies for Globalization, Talent Management and High Performance by Peter Cheese (3-Nov-2007) Hardcover

by Peter Cheese

Excellent Book

Genres: Business

Hardcover

First published November 1, 2007

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Introduction, Robert Cheese explains that his and his collaborators' direct involvement with clients as well as their extensive research on the issues facing businesses today and the practices they follow have led to several conclusions. "First, the key factor in determining the success of any organization is its ability to use human talent - to discover it, to develop it, to deploy it, motivate and energize it...Second, [because human talent is a productive resource like no other, with a unique capacity to add value to an organization], talent issues need to be handled strategically...Third, the conditions faced by every organization in the search for talent are changing with astonishing rapidity in every part of the world...Fourth, although the modern world tells us repeatedly how vital it is to use talent well, there is precious little guidance on how to do this - particularly on how to do it in an integrated way across a wide range of possible interventions or investments, and how to look at talent more strategically." There in a proverbial nutshell is why Cheese, Robert Thomas, and Elizabeth Craig wrote this book.

They identify and then discuss five "talent imperatives" for a new economic world in Chapter 1, then in succeeding chapters recommend a strategic approach to talent (Chapter 2), suggest how to identify talent (Chapter 3), offer their recommendations for completing the often difficult transition from talent development to talent deployment (Chapter 4), explain what "engagement" means and why it matters (Chapter 5), shift their attention to the challenge of embedding and sustaining talent (Chapter 6), and then in the next and final chapter, Chapter 7, share their thoughts about the "next steps" that need to be taken to become a talent-powered organization.

In the last chapter, the authors focus on "next steps" and "the new imperatives," reiterating that (a) talent is the single most important force creating value for any organization and (b) an appropriate strategy is needed to direct and apply that force to maximum benefit. That is indeed a "great challenge" on which senior management in all manner of organizations must focus. Doing so " will go a long way beyond the competitiveness of organizations to become the key issue in competitiveness of nations in the future. Clearly we have only begun to imagine the potential of talent power."

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might be fine conceptually for large organizations however, the more matrixed your organization, the less realistic it is that the tactics described in this book can be effectively implemented. There is a human element to management, motivation and employee development that can't be substituted by antiseptic processes and theoretical structures such as this book describes. Employees do their best under the direction and guidance of other human beings who hold their respect and who undoubtedly understand and convey the strategic vision of the company. Matrix organizations (I'm currently working for my second Fortune 100 firm organized in a metric "structure") miss this human condition.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads like an engineer wrote it. Process driven management. Has lots of good ideas, worth a re-read once in a while.