WHEN I WAS WORKING at my first ‘real’ job my manager talked a lot about talent acquisition. I had very little insight into what that meant back then, but often wondered why there was such a sense of competition among managers when there were vacancies to fill in the organization. Thirty-plus years later I no longer wonder, because I know that the hiring and firing process can be a precarious walk across a tightrope, not a synchronized ballet. I think this is what attracted me to this book, Talent Mindset: The Business Owner’s Guide to Building Bench Strength by Stacy Feiner. If you’re a business owner, or if you are a leader with the responsibility for hiring talented individuals to work for you, this book is for you. Stacy’s book is about what it means to get into the talent mindset and really own it; she calls it Strategic Talent Management and refers to Bench Strength. .
Strategic Talent Management [STM] gives you agility to recruit, train, and develop top talent. When you make Strategic Talent Management a priority and build Bench Strength you will also be developing a high-performing team. STM is a system, but doesn’t require a specific sequence. There are nuggets of wisdom and practical application in every chapter so as you read, you can jump around focusing on the sections that speaks to the situation you want to tackle at that time. Think of this book as a field guide to overcoming barriers where you are right now, be it Talent Acquisition, Talent Development, or Talent Deployment. Which of those scenarios are your ‘pain points’? Start there.
Strategic Talent Management is your process — you own it. Once you implement STM, you will be hiring people who contribute their talents to your organization and as they develop and improve in competencies, they become your competitive edge.
