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My latest post on The Working Life at Harvard
Business Online just came-out. It is called The
War for Talent is Back and starts out:
"Last
week I did a workshop with a group of about 20 CIOs from large companies."
"Last week I did a
workshop with a group of about 20 CIOs from large companies. Our discussion
focused on what they could do to build a more civilized workplace. In the
course of our conversation, each of these executives emphasized--as I have read
recently in The Economist,
The New York Times,
and BusinessWeek--that
building a workplace that attracts and keeps great people is especially
important now because the job market for skilled people is so hot. I also have
heard similar messages at other companies I have visited recently, including
eBay, Microsoft, Google, SuccessFactors, and Yahoo!, as well as from managers
at companies including Procter & Gamble and Fidelity Investments." ?
I develop five suggestions
for winning the so-called war for talent in some detail (see the
post for my arguments); note the first four clash with advice given by many
so-called experts, but are supported by much peer-reviewed research.
1. Superstars are
overrated.
2. Great systems are more
important than great people.
3. Create smaller rather than
larger pay differences between "??star" employees and
everyone else.
4. The law of crappy people
is probably a myth.
5. The no asshole rule
helps.
The fifth
suggestion won't surprise anyone who reads this blog; but I was surprised by
how vehement these CIOs were about the importance of creating places that were
free of contempt and anger because, when such asshole positioning strikes, it
makes it so much harder to attract and keep good people.
Robert Sutton is Professor of Management Science and Engineering in the
Stanford Engineering School, where he studies the links between
managerial knowledge and organizational action, innovation, and
organizational performance. He
has authored several books including most recently (with Jeffrey
Pfeffer) “Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense:
Profiting from Evidence-Based Management” (Harvard Business School
Press, 2006). His new book, “The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized
Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t¸” is published by Warner. He can be reached at
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