Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping the Best People, Revised and Updated Edition

Now Smart has fully revised his 1999 management classic to reintroduce the topgrading concept, which works for companies large and small in any industry. The author spells out his practical approach to finding and managing A-level talent—as well as coaching B players to turn them into A players. He provides intriguing case studies drawn from more than four thousand in-depth interviews.

As Smart writes in his introduction, "All organizations, all businesses live or die mostly on their talent, and any manager who fails to topgrade is nuts, or a C player. . . . Those who, way deep down, would sooner see an organization die than nudge an incompetent person out of a job should not read this book... Topgrading is for A players and all those aspiring to be A players."

For me, the most stunning revelations in the book are found on page 50, in Figure 3.2, "Cost of Miss-Hire Study Results." According to the results of Smart's research study of more than 50 corporations, the sum of costs of a mis-hire (on average) are as follows:

Base salary Less than $100,000: 14 times salary

Base Salary $100,000-250,000: 28 times salary

All Salaries: 24 times salary

Now go back and re-read those statistics while keeping in mind that, for various reasons which Smart briefly explains, "the numbers are probably conservative." Organizing his material within two Parts (one for companies, another for individuals), Smart offers a cohesive and comprehensive narrative within which he includes all manner of graphic illustrations as well as a number of exercises and questionnaires which enable both those who hire and those who are candidates to understand what topgrading is, what the CIDS interview approach is and how to derive the greatest benefits from it.

Most important of all), Smart explains how to achieve what Jim Collins describes so well in his most recently published book: the good to companies "...first got the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats -- and then they figured out where to drive it. The old adage 'People are the most important asset' turned out to be wrong. People are not [italics] your most important asset. The right [italics] people are." Presumably Smart would agree that the right people share the same values and, together, sustain their organization's commitment to those values. If involved in their organization's recruiting and interviewing process, as they should be, they will help to ensure that the right people will be hired (i.e. allowed on the "bus"). Obviously it is important to get talent and task in proper alignment. It is equally important to keep an organization's values in proper alignment with its objective(s). Although Collins does not use the term, the good to great companies he discusses are all topgraders.

The reader will especially appreciate having the information provided by Smart in (count `em) seven appendices: CIDS Interview Guide, Career History Form, In-Depth Reference-Check Guide, Interview Feedback Form, Sample Competencies -- Management, and Sample Competencies -- Wm. M. Mercer. Here in a single volume is about all anyone needs to know and have inorder to understand what topgrading is, how it works, and why it will probably be essential to those who hire as well as to those whom they consider.

Lest there be any misunderstanding by anyone reading this review, I want to point out that any organization (regardless of size or nature) can be a topgrader and that is even more important to smaller organizations with limited resources. Why? Because the cost of a miss-hire could be catastrophic, not only in terms of total compensation but also in terms of mistakes, failures, alienated customers, lost business, wasted opportunities, and disruption of the workplace. Some may respond, "I cannot afford to hire all A players even if I could find them!" On Smart's behalf, I presume to reply that no organization can afford NOT to hire only A players or those who, with proper development and supervision, can become A players.


"Selecting A players and removing C players"   April 15, 2001
Turgay BUGDACIGIL (Istanbul, Turkey)
20 out of 26 found this review helpful

"After studying literally thousands of successful and failed careers, and over one hundred successful and failed companies, one overriding factor emerges: talent. Human capital. The single most important driver of organizational performance and individual managerial success is talent. The ability to actually do what every company and every manager professes to do-hire the best-is what distinguishes premier companies from mediocre firms, successful versus ordinary careers. The vast majority of organizations and managers simply can't figure out how to overcome the many obstacles to packing their team with A players...Topgrading shows you how premier companies such as General Electric gain a talent advantage, how every manager can benefit from learning leading-edge techniques. Jack Welch, Chairman and CEO of GE, said, 'The reality is, we simply cannot afford to field anything but teams of A players.'"

In this context, Bradford D. Smart;

* defines topgrading in simple terms and then presents short examples of companies that topgrade,

* presents (i)the major pyschological and organizational obstacles to topgrading, and (ii)the best practices to overcome them,

* presents a groundbreaking quantification of the costs associated with making hiring mistakes,

* discusses the moral issues in firing people,

* examines recruitment approaches and offers improvements,

* presents you with nine keys to becoming an A player at the highest level,

* helps you fix your weaknesses, which is more important than spending additional time developing your strengths,

* explains the Chronological In-Depth Structured (CIDS)-based coaching and interview principles, and presents three case studies to apply these principles with finesse and ease,

* presents the CIDS interview model in its entirety-what it is, advanced interviewing tactics, and how to avoid employement-related legal problems.

Finally, he writes, "Everyone wants to know the key to individual and corporate success. I think I know. Forty-thousand case studies devoted to scrutinizing 50 competencies provide some clues. Jack Welch of GE asked me which, of all those competencies, was the single most important for helping someone become an A player. Larry Bossidy of AlliedSignal asked the same question. So did Ted Waitt, CEO and largest shareholder of Gateway. After the CIDS interview, managers frequently say, 'Wow, Doc, since you've been studying careers in such detail for so many years, can you give me the secret to success?' Yup. Topgrading. Selecting A players and removing C players. Because talent wins."

Highly recommended.


Required Reading for Managers...   December 31, 2005
D. Kanigan (CT, USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This may be the most powerful business management book that I have read explaining: a) why topgrading is every manager's priority, b) why mis-hires are so expensive, c) why firing C players is the best strategy for the company, for you and for the employee being impacted. In addition to answers to these questions supported by research and statistics, the author provides you with a road map to help. If you manage and/or hire people this book is essential reading.

Intro:
- Talent Wins

Part 1: Topgrading for Companies
1) Topgrading: Every Manager's #1 Priority
2) Obstacles to Topgrading: How to Overcome Them
3) The Astronomical Costs of Mis-Hires: Company Killers and Career Derailers
4) Firing C Players: Is it Immoral?
5) Recruitment Best Practices: How to Avoid Mishires
6) Case Studies: How to Topgrade

Part 2: Topgrading for Individuals
7) Becoming an A Player: Have your Cake and eat it too
8) Fixing Your Weaknesses: The Straightest Path to Success
9) Coaching 101: The CIDS Based Model
10) Case Studes: Coaching to Fix Weaknesses

Part 3: CIDS Interviewing
11) Your Most Powerful Tool: The CIDS Interview Guide
12) Master CIDS Interviewing: Advanced Interviewing Tactics
13) Avoiding Legal Problems: A "Bulletproof" Approach


GREAT PROCESS AND REASONS TO HIRE THE BEST   July 6, 1999
23 out of 31 found this review helpful

Computers and equipment are wonderful tools, but people make the difference. TOPGRADING makes it clear just how valuable it is to hire and work with the best. The mistakes you will avoid make the investment very valuable. Early in our company's history, we did a statistical analysis of how many candidates we had to seriously consider before we could assume that we had seen an outstanding one. It was over 140. TOPGRADING provides you with a process that reduces that number a lot, but still ensures that you will be able to hire the best. I was very impressed with this book. I think it is one of the few books that goes beyond the current best practice to establish a new and higher standard. You would be very foolish if you did not read and apply the messages of this book. When the history of many companies is written in the future, a key turning point will be the day that TOPGRADING was first applied. I wish that I had had this book available 22 years ago when I established my consulting firm! I have recently discussed this book with a number of business executives, and they each found the book to be as valuable as I did. THIS BOOK WILL INCREASE THE CHANCES THAT YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES WILL BE BIGGER WINNERS THAN EVER BEFORE! Banish stalled thinking about hiring, and use this process.


An Improvement on Best Practices for Recruiting Top Talent   April 7, 2000
Professor Donald Mitchell (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 96,000 Helpful Votes Globally)
18 out of 24 found this review helpful

Computers and equipment are wonderful tools, but people make the difference. Many companies are too little focused on hiring the best. Research consistently shows that the best 25 percent in any population produce over 80 percent of the economic results. Yet the cost to hire and keep them is much less than the benefit. TOPGRADING is built around that insight. TOPGRADING makes it clear just how valuable it is to hire and work with the best. The mistakes you will avoid make the investment very valuable. Early in our company's history, we did a statistical analysis of how many candidates we had to seriously consider before we could assume that we had seen an outstanding one. It was over 140. Now, most people would stop long before then and will usually hire someone who is not a top performer. TOPGRADING helps with this problem by providing you with a process that reduces that number a lot, but still ensures that you will be able to hire the best. I was very impressed with this book. I think it is one of the few books that goes beyond the current best practice to establish a new and higher standard in any field. It is certainly the only one I have seen that sets a higher standard in hiring. You would be very foolish if you did not read and apply the messages of this book. Some few geniuses may be able to hire the best using intuition, but for the rest of us there's TOPGRADING. When the history of many companies is written in the future, a key turning point will be the day that TOPGRADING was first applied. I wish that I had had this book available 22 years ago when I established my consulting firm! I have recently discussed this book with a number of business executives, and they each found the book to be as valuable as I did. Banish stalled thinking about hiring, and use this process. If you are not years ahead of the competition, the lack of this process could be a major contributing cause. Think about it.