Talent can make or break a company. More importantly, in today’s global marketplace, talent is a key competitive differentiator—and ultimately the scarcest resource. In a recent cover story (October 5, 2006), The Economist reported that the “battle for brainpower” is on.
A company’s position in the marketplace depends upon its ability to recruit, coach, retain, and—when necessary—replace talent. Employees wanting to excel can move a company to greatness. However, talent-on-the-bubble employees—or rather, those with problematic behavior that could compromise a company’s mission—can take the company down.
TALENT IQ: Identify Your Company’s Top Performers, Improve or Remove Underachievers, Boost Productivity and Profit,(Platinum Press; March 2007) by Emmett C. Murphy, is based on an extensive ten-year study of best practices among 100,000 talent leaders in virtually every type of organizational setting. Addressing the most fundamental question of what is talent, the study found a surprisingly simple (but often overlooked) answer: achievement. Murphy stresses that talent without achievement is mere potential—and potential alone won’t make an organization succeed. With that in mind, TALENT IQ shows how to manage talent, build a culture of achievement, and get results.
Emmett C. Murphy is the founder and former chairman and CEO of E.C. Murphy VHA, LLC, the world’s largest business and healthcare alliance specializing in business restructuring and executive development. His books, including the bestseller Leadership IQ, have been translated internationally. He lives in Clarence, New York.