The Talent Era

Talent is the true engine of the next economy. Talented people aren't simply "knowledge workers"; they're free agents, capable of bringing enormous value to the organizations they are part of. And they know it.

Organizations that want to maximize the value of talent need to act in radically new ways. In this book, world-renowned quality strategist Subir Chowdhury presents a powerful new blueprint for recognizing talent, rewarding it, and making the most of it.

Chowdhury reveals the seven key secrets of talent, then shows managers exactly how to measure Return on Talent (ROT) — and exactly how to enhance it. He also shows talented individuals exactly how to maximize their own talents — and maximize the rewards those talents can earn.

• Introduction: Welcome to the Talent Era
• Not Just Sports and Entertainment Anymore
• The Effects of Free Agency
• The Impact of Unions
• The End Game
• What Do We Mean by "Talents"?
• Why This Book?
• Chapter 1: The Talent Value Chain
• Talent Breeds Innovation
• Five Links in the Idea-Talent Chain
• Five Ways to Create Value
• The IDEA Value Cycle
• Chapter 2: Winning the Creative War
• Talent and Environment
• Winning by Leveraging Talent
• Talent to Meet the Competition
• Talent Is Key in Mergers
• Continuous Development Cycle
• On-Time Obsolescence
• Chapter 3: Talent: Engine of the New Economy
• Talent Creates
• Talented Leaders Win
• Seven Differences between Talents and Knowledge Workers
• How Can Knowledge Workers Become Talents?
• People Quality Management
• The Power of Mind: Positive Thinking
• Chapter 4: The Elements of a Talent-Friendly Organization
• Talent Satisfaction Measurement System
• Organizational Management System
• Talent As Customer, Talent As Supplier
• Compensation
• Summary
• Chapter 5: Talent Management Systems
• Four Elements of the TMS
• Benefits of the TMS
• Attracting Talents
• Keeping Talents
• Managing Talents
• Identifying Talents
• The Challenge of TMS
• Summary
• Chapter 6: The Growth Rule
• Positive Challenge
• Grass-Roots Education
• Cross-Functional Capability
• Support for Change
• Seven Laws of Fusion of Talents
• Launching an Idea Bank
• Chapter 7: Talent Development Budget
• Value-Driven Cost Structure
• Contingency Plan for Talents
• The Power of Developing Talent
• Summary
• Chapter 8: Return on Talent
• Knowledge Generated and Applied
• Investment in Talent
• ROT Measurement
• Three Examples of Calculating ROT
• Optimize ROT
• Chapter 9: The Seven Secrets of Talent
1. Search for the Dream
2. Evaluate Your Strengths and Weaknesses
3. Cultivate Discipline and Determination
4. Render Ideas and Actions Inseparable
5. Embrace Positivity
6. Take a Never-Give-Up Attitude
7. Show a "Next" Mentality
• Example of the Talent SECRETS: Michael Jordan

A really easy read and thoughtprovoking as well.

There is a certain focus on sports parallels, which sometimes seems odd, from a corporate perspective, but he seems to admire Dell and Microsoft as well :->

Recommended.