Talent Talk

I thought it would still be some time before science was brought into the workplace to identify such things as, for example, the causes of more productive behaviour or greater team effectiveness.

Not so. The latest edition of The Economist has run a story on an ingenious scientific experiment that has sought to do just that - with fascinating results. The story can be read here.

Talent Talk

‘It’s a company that really really cares for its employees…’

‘What I love about working here is the energy of the people. People are so motivated and have so many ideas…’

‘People come from all over the country to work here…’

‘We must be more innovative!’

It’s a familiar cry in companies, and often comes from the CEO. But the sorry fact is that innovation is something many companies do not do particularly well.

This may come as a surprise to the casual observer, since many of these companies spend tens of millions of dollars in targeted recruitment every year - but fast forward to the year end, and the situation remains stubbornly the same. A lack of innovation.

The Big Deal about Innovation

‘Too much intelligence and energy is being devoted to scraping the crumbs off the table of capitalism instead of preparing the meal.’

If there ever was an epithet that sums up the failings of capitalism, Warren Buffett’s comes pretty close.

In previous Talks we’ve looked at the make-up of entrepreneurs and the impact of ‘The System’ on one’s individual talent. In this Talk we combine the two themes and ask whether the way the economic system is run rewards the right values. Does the economic system encourage creation, a ‘preparing of the meal’, or does it lend itself to incrementalism, a ’scraping the crumbs off the table’?

An unholy row is rumbling through the corridors of football’s major powers.

It now involves Manchester United and Real Madrid, two of football’s most successful teams; FIFA, the governing body; and one man, a prodigious talent by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Let’s start with Ronaldo. Two years ago, few people had heard of him. Manchester United picked him up from Sporting Lisbon for just over £12m. Many people, arch talent-spotter Arsene Wenger himself included, thought that a tad expensive for a kid with untried ability.

‘If you take a chance based on the best information available and you get it right, you get a small reward.

‘If you take a chance based on the best information you have and you get it wrong, you get a medium-sized punishment. ‘If you take no chance, and just go along with the boss or go along with the majority, you get a small reward. So what would you do?’

This recent article by the folks over at Harvard has really touched a nerve. Asking why managers don’t think more deeply, the article partly reviews the Zaltmans’ new book on the subject, Marketing Metaphoria. At the time of writing, the article had generated a remarkable 134 responses.

So why the ballyhoo over such a seemingly mundane topic about how deeply we think at work?

There seems to be no obvious explanation. Judging from the responses, a number of people feel quite passionate on the subject and hold management, organisations, and the whole professional landscape squarely responsible for the malaise of ’shallow thinking’.