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

Key themes in the book are:

1. The need to revaluate how people contribute and create value in today's economy – it is about knowledge, innovation and relationships today rather than executive potential tomorrow.

2. Challenging the conventional wisdom that talent refers to a 'special few' rather than the 'vital many'. Perhaps we don't have enough because we keep looking in the wrong places and doing the wrong things?

3. Conditions facing organizations are tough and competitive and markets are turbulent. To withstand this, we need to build talented organizations and talented individuals.

4. Interdependence between people within and across organizations is critical. The way that each individual relies on each other and how talent is realised through social and team ties makes a decisive, defining difference.

5. Individuals control when and who their potential is shared with. The idea that an organization can manage talent and potential is an outdated conceit.

6. The nature of work itself matters hugely. The extent to which it is stimulating and engaging – and how people can make the connection with what they do and the wider difference it makes – is vital.

7. The way talent is generated is affected by the whole 'ecology' of an organization – its sense of purpose, rituals, the behaviour of its leaders, how it hires and how it fires people all influence the way talent is generated.

Jacqueline Davies
is a respected HR leader with 18 years' experience in strategic human resource management. She has led the global talent agendas in two FTSE top 10 companies and driven executive integration programmes for two of the largest acquisitions in corporate history. Jacqueline is a recognised thought leader in how companies can deploy talent strategies to achieve commercial advantage. Jacqueline is a non-executive director of two charities and has recently been appointed to the Advisory Board on Leadership Ethics at the Bristol Business School. She can be contacted at truthabouttalent@btinternet.com.

Jeremy Kourdi
is a writer and executive coach. His experience includes commercial leadership, writing and coaching expertise gained with leading brands. During his career he has worked in Europe, North America and the Middle East with a range of organizations including HSBC, Pearson, London Business School, IMD and he was Senior Vice-President with The Economist Group. For further information visit www.LeadershipExpertise.com.