Topgrading, 3rd Edition: The Proven Hiring and Promoting Method That Turbocharges Company Performance

by Bradford D. Smart

Book by Smart, Bradford D.

Genres: Business, Management, Nonfiction, Leadership, Recruitment

368 pages, Hardcover

First published August 16, 2012

Reviews

[Guy Byars · Rating 2 out of 5]

Important concept, absolute slog of a book.

Read the first two chapters then stop.

[Erica V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a work book. But great tips for hiring process and what to look for in potential A player candidates.

[Mark Manderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good info. Top takeaways:
TORC TECHNIQUE. During the interview let the candidate know that they will need to get former employers on the phone for verification. This scares away C players.

You must use measureable accountabilities! 

Make a part of the culture where employees must bring in a players to interview. Then pay bonuses four candidates that are hired. 

Create and utilize job performance scorecards.
Schedule regular performance and coaching review sessions to reinforce growth. 

[Ola · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author assumes that many busy people skip parts of the book... And that's why he keeps on repeating the same things over and over again. For those who read the whole book it seems to be a waste of time - especially that what is repeated are mostly statistics and names that are supposed to be proofs of success, not necessarily the top insights.
Nevertheless, the message of the book is quite useful: you should always prioritize employing the best people available at a given salary level. A detailed tandem interview and the TORC technique (threat of reference call) should be used for that purpose. However, it could be described on 100 and not on 300+ pages.

[Franciszek Georgiew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wyjątkowo biurokratyczne podejście, dostosowane raczej do większych przedsiębiorstw.

Mimo wszystko, bardzo skutecznie podkreśla wagę zatrudniania najlepszych i konieczność utrzymywania takiego "zwycięskiego składu" w firmie. O ile same metody i narzędzia, choć rozdmuchane, są ciekawe i sprawiają wrażenia skutecznych, 50% treści opartej na ciągłym przechwalaniu się i powtarzaniu tych samych punktów zdecydowanie odstrasza.

Co więcej, z punktu widzenia czytelnika, umieszczenie narzędzi w tekście, a nie na końcu książki byłoby dużo skuteczniejsze.

[Nicole Hubbs · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would give this a zero if that was an option. This book reads like a never-ending sales pitch and the author is painfully lacking in humility. He has an inflated ego and constantly touts his own brilliance and the superiority of the program he created — which gets exhausting fast.

I found myself rolling my eyes and forcing myself to push through just to finish it. Save your time and your money — leave this one on the shelf.

[James Haring · Rating 1 out of 5]

My company was reading this.
Terrible assumptions, Terrible math.

Higher good talent. Makes sense. To ask prospective employees and their references to violate their companies policies is unethical.

Find something better to read. Maybe "How to use Dioxin" or "Ethel the Aardvark goes Quantity Surveying" would be a better use of your time.

[Erica Decker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great read and highly recommend for hiring managers, but could have been half the length. The third edition is significantly shorter, but still too long.

Main takeaway: have interviewees set up the reference calls with their old bosses, go into great detail about their job history during a long interview.

[Justin Raine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn’t call it a fun read but super valuable content. Definitely has an element of self-promotion throughout that I could have done without, but ultimately it’s great content that, when successfully implemented, is guaranteed to drive results.

[Daniel Ottenwalder · Rating 3 out of 5]

#1 rule of hiring A players is threatening referrals. A players love people talking to their past bosses because they have mostly good things to say. C players will get scared away. There is always a role that you can be an A player in figure it out and do it.

[Lee Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. Some good nuggets but not very relevant in my life.

[Michael Harvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels like it treats people like an actual 'resource' which ages the book somewhat. There are some really useful ideas, like the TORC concept. Worth a flick through.

[Taiki Nakamura · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a comprehensive teaching book on hiring people. It's a pretty good main point, but I think the number of pages can be reduced further.

[Nirmal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful book if you want to improving your hiring and bring clarity to your team.

[Penni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very valuable content. Very repetitive and srawn out.
Some pretty shitty views interlaced with really good hiring advice, tips and tricks.

Throw out the bathwater, keep the baby.

[Anshul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read if you are hiring in your company. A lot of things in the book are repetitive but useful.

[Tommy Piowaty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a little tough to read. It is like a text book. Good stuff. But a LOT of info.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are extremely useful hiring & interviewing insights, both strategy and tactic, but it's hidden behind three times as much consultant fluff and selling of Topgrading workshops. Hard to handle.

[Seth Jenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Opened my mind to a much more systematic way of recruiting and hiring top talent.

[Paul Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finally made it through. Loved the points, strategy, ideas, methodology, etc. But this book goes on too long like a Meat Loaf song. If it's worth saying, it's worth saying so many times.