Harvard business review
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Most firms have no formal programs for anticipating and fulfilling talent needs, relying on an increasingly expensive pool of outside candidates that has been shrinking since it was created from the white-collar layoffs of the 1980s. But the advice these companies are getting to solve the problem--institute large-scale internal development programs--is equally ineffective. Internal development was the norm back in the 1950s, and every management-development practice that seems novel today was routine in those years--from executive coaching to 360-degree feedback to job rotation to high-potential programs. ⋯ Third, companies can improve their returns on investment in development efforts by adopting novel cost-sharing programs. Fourth, they should seek to protect their investments by generating internal opportunities to encourage newly trained managers to stick with the firm. Taken together, these principles form the foundation for a new paradigm in talent management: a talent-on-demand system.
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Despite the great sums of money companies dedicate to talent management systems, many still struggle to fill key positions - limiting their potential for growth in the process. Virtually all the human resource executives in the authors' 2005 survey of 40 companies around the world said that their pipeline of high-potential employees was insufficient to fill strategic management roles. The survey revealed two primary reasons for this. ⋯ These firms don't just manage talent, they build talent factories. The authors describe the experiences of two such corporations - consumer products icon Procter & Gamble and financial services giant HSBC Group -that figured out how to develop and retain key employees and fill positions quickly to meet evolving business needs. Though each company approached talent management from a different direction, they both maintained a twin focus on functionality (rigorous talent processes that support strategic and cultural objectives) and vitality (management's emotional commitment, which is reflected in daily actions).
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Health care in the United States--and in most other developed countries--is ailing. Medical treatment has made astonishing advances, but the packaging and delivery of health care are often inefficient, ineffective, and user unfriendly. Problems ranging from costs to medical errors beg for ingenious solutions-and indeed, enormous investments have been made in innovation. ⋯ Companies can often turn these six forces to their advantage. The analytical framework the author describes can also be used to examine other industries. Cataloging the innovation types and identifying the forces that aid or undermine them can reveal insights on how to treat chronic innovation ills- prescriptions that will make any industry healthier.
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When corporate leaders or the organizations they represent mess up, they face the difficult decision of whether or not to apologize publicly. A public apology is a risky move. It's highly political, and every word matters. ⋯ The author draws her conclusions from hard data and abundant anecdotal evidence, examining notoriously bad apologizers as well as exceptionally good ones. While selectivity is key, good apologies usually do work. What constitutes a good apology? Acknowledgment of the mistake or wrongdoing, acceptance of responsibility, expression of regret, and assurance that the offense will not be repeated.