Talent Management : Deliberate Practice for Success [1 ed.] 9781869222307, 9781869221492

Citation preview

The book contests the view that talent is a special divine gift linked to a select elite and holds the belief that everyone is talented. It takes a profound look at talent, its definition and composition and the best practices for managing talent. It describes talent as one’s ability to arouse emotion. Great achievers are ordinary people who have mastered the capacity to arouse emotion through a skill or trait. We also arouse emotion in our field of our passion and our potency. We arouse emotion and inspire people through our mastery of skill and through achievement.

ISBN:978-1-86922-149-2

The practice of talent creation ensures that institutions and the economy have a sustained source of great talent. Talent calibration provides a framework for measuring, selecting and ranking institutional talent and pulling the best to the top. Cultivation ensures that talent is forged as a competitive capability and leveraged for breakout achievements that establish new standards and cultures. Caring ensures that balanced personal wellness remains at a peak, thereby facilitating maximum competitiveness, productivity and inspiration. Coaching ensures that people understand the contests and competitive environments of work and life and know which practices to apply for sustained success. The content of this book supports the development of the greatest skill of all – the ability to mentor others in creating and cultivating their talent. Talent management is both a craft and a virtue that must be practiced in a personal capacity and as a deliberate institutional management best practice. It enables and empowers people to gain personal mastery in those skills and crafts that nourish their truest interest and feeling of personal fulfilment. The deliberate practice of talent management invariably leads to success and frees people to pursue and experience life as a rainbow of parallel streams with exciting intermittent contests, in which talent provides the amazing ability and leverage to conquer any number

Danie Joubert

truest interest with our natural intelligences,

The book explores the six critical performance areas of the talent management process. Talent management comprises of talent creation, calibration, cultivation, leverage, caring and coaching.

Deliberate practice for success

This book provides the architecture for a talent management regime and culture that inspires natural achievers and leaders, thus promoting talent identification and mentoring for sustained exceptional performance in the workplace. Poor talent management practices that manifest in absenteeism, job hopping, productivity loss and stress cost South African institutions in excess of R40 billion a year.

Talent Management

Talent Management

Danie Joubert What isnt company Tale

the

(pty ltd)

ian | Sportsman | | Professional Artist | Politic yer | Technician | Law | er ine Eng Architect | Chemical

Talent Management Deliberate practice for success

and variety of life’s contests.

talent_cover.indd 1

16/8/07 21:19:07

TALENT MANAGEMENT

TALENT MANAGEMENT Deliberate practice for success by Danie Joubert

2007

Copyright © Knowres Publishing All reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the contents of this book do not, directly or indirectly, infringe any existing copyright of any third person and, further, that all quotations or extracts taken from any other publication or work have been appropriately acknowledged and referenced. The publisher, editors and printers take no responsibility for any copyright infringement committed by an author of this work. Copyright subsists in this work. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written consent of the publisher. While the publisher, editors and printers have taken all reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this work, they take no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of that person relying on the information contained in this work. First published in 2007 ISBN: 978-1-86922-230-7 Published by Knowres Publishing (Pty) Ltd P O Box 3954 Randburg 2125 Republic of South Africa Tel: (+27 11) 706 6009 Fax: (+27 11) 706 1127 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.kr.co.za Printed and bound: Replika Press Pvt Ltd, Haryana, India Typesetting, layout and design: Karien Brink, 082 630 7676 Cover design: Carike Meiring, [email protected] Editing and proofreading: Elsa Crous, [email protected] John Henderson, [email protected]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the people who made the writing and publication of this book possible. When a husband writes a book, the wife and family take strain. The first person on my thank-you list is therefore my wife, Belinda, for her patience and critical ear. She knew when I had to shift my mind to the Kleinmond fynbos and mountains for inspiration and clarity. I’m grateful for the wonderful hospitality of George Hudson, who shared with me his many talent management experiences, gained within many different countries as a geologist working for Shell. Then I have two fond memories I want to celebrate with this book: The first is the life coaching I received from engineer, Alex Ham, former Executive Director of the Eskom Engineering Group. The second is the rollercoaster technology management education I received in Japan, South Korea, the USA and Germany from Professor Louis van Biljon, former Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the University of Pretoria. Thanks to George Lindeque, former Human Resources Executive Director of Eskom, who enabled us to appraise the talent management practices of some of the world’s leading companies. Special thanks go to Gordon Noah, my former consulting partner, for the exciting times we had as one of the first BEE consulting firms in South Africa, doing our bit to change the talent management mindsets and structures of new institutional leaders. I would like to thank Wendy Luhabe for her personal contribution to the creation and development of business talent in South Africa through the years, and for writing the foreword to this book. My appreciation goes to Wilhelm Crous and Cia Joubert for their enthusiasm for talent management, and for publishing this book. Wilhelm has a true interest in talent and has contributed greatly to building knowledge resources in South Africa. Danie Joubert 30 April 2007

CONTENTS FOREWORD iii ABOUT THE AUTHOR INTRODUCTION v

iv

PART ONE - TALENT MANAGEMENT – A deliberate practice Chapter One - The genesis of greatness 2 Chapter Two - The anatomy of talent 6 Chapter Three - The state of talent management Chapter Four - Best practice for talent management

1

11 17

PART TWO - TALENT CREATION – The deliberate practice of creating 27 talent for the future Chapter Five - The nurseries of talent

28

PART THREE - TALENT CALIBRATION – The deliberate practice of 33 measuring talent Chapter Six - Potency 34 Chapter Seven - Truest interest 42 Chapter Eight - The alpha skill intelligences Chapter Nine - The virtue intelligences

45 53

PART FOUR - TALENT CULTIVATION – The deliberate practice of 59 developing talent Chapter Ten - Leaders as coaches Chapter Eleven - Forced ranking Chapter Twelve - Career planning

60 64 67

PART FIVE - LEVERAGING TALENT – The deliberate practice of 69 activating and leveraging talent Chapter Thirteen - Motivation 70 Chapter Fourteen - Breakout achievement

72

PART SIX - TALENT CARING – The deliberate practice of 97 preserving talent Chapter Fifteen - Personal wellness 98 Chapter Sixteen - Inspiration 106 Chapter Seventeen - Building a vital inner circle

112

PART SEVEN - TALENT COACHING – The deliberate practice of 117 maximising a talent for greatness Chapter Eighteen - The deliberate practice of personal mastery 118 Chapter Nineteen - Life as a journey of contests 122 Chapter Twenty - The discipline of winning - the circuits of personal success i

127

CONCLUSION

135

Chapter Twenty-one - Walking into the light - creating an abundance of talent

ADDENDUM – Calibrating your talent BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

141

145

149

ii

136

FOREWORD The demands and challenges of the 21st century require us to reconsider many areas of our lives, the most fundamental of which relate to our life purpose and why we are here in the first place. This is a critical question, because it recognises that each of us has very unique abilities which express themselves in our talents. Even within the same discipline, such as architecture, art or music, we experience a variety of talents. Secondly, there is generally a relationship between our talents and our dreams, and this therefore suggests that childhood is probably the most important stage of our lives – this is when our parents should pay attention to what captures our interest and attention. It is the stage during which we should expose children to a wide range of interests to both stimulate their imagination and broaden their horizons. I have always maintained that, perhaps, we have reached an era which demands that parents be taught parenting skills so that they can bring up children to be the best they can possibly be, to reach their full potential and grow up with healthy self-esteem. Thirdly, education has a critical contribution to make towards talent management. In my view, there is a direct relationship between economic development, economic performance, competitiveness and active talent management. We have a responsibility to make sure that our education system provides an inspiring place for learning and development to occur, from early childhood to higher levels of education. We should move away from a narrow and specialised model of education to one which integrates professional training with management and business skills so that we broaden prospects of education beyond employment. We should also accept that not all children have an academic inclination, and, to make sure that they are not deprived of their aspirations, we must offer other alternatives, like vocational training and entrepreneurial development. Finally, we need only look at nature to remember how magnificent we are meant to be. Not all flowers look the same – each has a unique colour and design, each has its own beauty and fragrance, each has its own value. We are meant to be unique. Every profession has value and none is more important than the other. We need professionals in the police force as much as we need doctors or accountants, teachers or social workers. Our challenge in South Africa is to prioritise the critical skills our country requires to become competent, efficient and well managed. This book intends to define talent more broadly, to inspire us to cultivate talent more proactively and to prioritise talent management as a country in general. Carpe diem Wendy Luhabe

iii

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Danie Joubert, author of Talent Management – Deliberate Practice for Success, is an independent talent management coach and organisation development consultant who coaches best practice in change, performance and talent management. He also gives career management guidance to employees and young people. Danie is an entrepreneur with a passion for developing human capital. In 1993, he founded one of the first BEE human capital consulting firms in South Africa. This firm made valuable contributions to the successes of new government programmes. Danie led the implementation of performance management systems for some public institutions that have played a key role in building the economy of South Africa since 1994, such as the Department of Public Enterprises. The implementation of performance management systems, strategy maps, balanced scorecards, individual scorecards, talent management, rapid learning and change interventions under his guidance led to performance enhancements for these organisations. He has a track record as an entrepreneurial corporate human resources manager, skills planning manager, training manager, staffing executive and performance management consultant. He is a co-founder of the South African Technology TOP 100 Competition and, for one of South Africa’s largest banking groups, he developed and produced a television training programme entitled Management of Technology for Global Competitiveness. He was the initiator of Eskom’s Technology Leadership Programme (TLP), the Education Investment Fund and several other innovative talent-creation initiatives. He is registered as a Generalist Practitioner with the Board for Personnel Practice and served a term as the Chairman of the Education and Training Committee of SACOB. He is a keen researcher who has written articles for leading magazines and newspapers. Danie studies the best practices for talent and strategic management of the leading companies and nations in the world and frequently speaks at conferences on human capital and competitiveness. He is the author of several books, including Competitive Firms Thrive on Instinct and Writing the Winning CV (two revisions), as well as, several quick readers for Knowledge Resources on the implementation of performance scorecards. He has researched the lives of many great achievers, the factors that drive greatness and the architecture of great achievements, which led to this publication on talent management. His truest interest is to promote talent management as an institutional business process for maximising entrepreneurial and institutional talent. He believes South Africa must become a catalyst for and key inspirational player in the successful implementation of talent-driven, sustainable economic development and virtue enlightenment across Africa. E-mail: [email protected] Cell no.: 082 851 6978

iv

INTRODUCTION The three questions to which leaders in the public service and business sector always demand concrete answers are: “What is talent really?”, “How does one recognise talent and assess accurately whether a candidate has the talent to become a successful director-general, managing director, engineering manager, principal architect or talk-show host?”, and “How does one help a young person to become a successful entrepreneur, engineer, architect or professional artist, sportsman, politician and thus reduce unemployment?” These questions were the inspiration for the research for this book. My research led me to a fresh understanding of talent and its anatomy and of how it should be managed to maximise its impact on individual and institutional success. It turned out that talent is a person’s ability to arouse the emotions of others, that it consists of several parts, and that talent management has to be practised as a deliberate professional craft to liberate and maximise a person’s talent. Talent management empowers people to gain personal mastery in those skills and virtues that nourish their truest interest, feelings of personal fulfilment and ability to arouse emotion. The content of this book will enable people who are passionate about talent to develop the ability to recognise talent and to identify and cultivate the key components of human talent – people’s potency, truest interest, natural skill and virtue intelligences. The book will provide spiritual support to leaders, managers, educators, parents and practitioners in managing the talent under their watch and thus help their protégés experience fulfilling lives and successful business pursuits. Deliberate talent management frees individuals to pursue and experience life as a rainbow of parallel streams, with exciting contests in which talent provides the amazing ability and leverage to conquer any number and variety of life’s contests. Talent management has vibrated as an art in the secret chambers of the universal human mind for many centuries, resulting in several cycles of discovery, enlightenment and excitement over thousands of years. The mission of institutional talent management is to secure future skills for the value chains of industries and social services. Over many centuries, institutions of learning that were created in order to prepare people for an easier and worthier life (alongside the work of religious sages) inculcated the dominant paradigm that work is cumbersome and that life is a path of painful struggles with scarce blessings and rare fulfilment, but with lasting dependency, thus programming and calibrating people for a life of hardship. Talent management as an overt, deliberate practice and professional craft breaks this mould and sets people free to flow along the rainbow streams of life they choose, and to experience life as an endless series of challenges for which talent must be nurtured in order for individuals and organisations to triumph, remain competitive and be spiritually fulfilled. Studies and observations of the personalities and behaviours of past heroes, winners and great achievers have led to the definition of talent as being the power to arouse emotion – a power which evolves from a deliberate practice for creating, cultivating and maximising talent. This book is the manifestation of a truest interest in the origin and structure of human talent and its role in society. Divine guidance led me to the insight that societies needed to emphasise the nurturing of talent to avoid the pitfalls of spiritual barrenness. Divine guidance inspired a search

v

for old books written by those who influenced the history of nations and civilisations. Wisdoms were extracted like gold artifacts from an ancient treasury. One of these books of treasure was the weathered, brown, leather-bound autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, written somewhere during the 18th century. It revealed why and how the great man co-authored the nation-building Declaration of Independence in 1776, and how he struggled with his truest interest, his own talent calibration and the sharpening of his virtues for this enormous task. The people wisdoms reflected in the many stories of Charles Dickens provided a sense of the moral values and ethics of a bygone era which contributed greatly to the sound fabric of modern society. The biographies of great achievers like Marie Curie, Alfred Nobel, Thomas Jefferson, Madonna, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong and Michael Schumacher described the intent, focus, deliberate practice, physical pain, sacrifice, vitality and sense of duty of these profound people. The classic military treatise, The Art of Strategy, by Sun Tzu has been in use for more than twentyfive centuries and provides a framework for the type of contests one encounters in life. The International Library of Famous Literature, a set of books composed and edited during 1851 to 1899 by researchers of the British Museum, Yale and Imperial universities, provided a treasury of wordsmith excellence and literary genius. The profound truths and insights portrayed in some of these old books convinced me that modern society has become careless about talent and achievement excellence, and has actually lost the art of talent management. Sometimes we have to delve into the past to build the future. The comprehensive talent management practice described in this book moves readers into exciting, uncharted waters of personal and institutional talent creation, calibration and cultivation, and provides them with lessons for becoming spiritual warriors, participating and triumphing in the contests of today and tomorrow. When people recognise their talent and that of other people and pursue its cultivation, the purpose of this book will be fulfilled. Talent management, as explained in this book, is the culmination of a passionate search over many years to find a deliberate practice that turns people into architects and builders of prejudicefree socioeconomic wellness. Readers will build a new paradigm of talent after reading and using this book as a personal and coaching aid. Part One of the book examines greatness and talent, and what contributes to these phenomena. It assesses the state of talent management and identifies behaviours that can be described as best practices. Part Two focuses on the process of creating talent and, more specifically, the role of employers. Part Three submits a framework for structuring and measuring talent. Parts Four and Five examine the role of employers in cultivating and leveraging talent. Talent caring is discussed in the sixth part of the book, and talent coaching is explained in Part Seven. The book concludes with an assessment of the talent management challenges facing South Africa.

vi

PART ONE TALENT MANAGEMENT

A deliberate practice THE GENESIS OF GREATNESS THE ANATOMY OF TALENT THE STATE OF TALENT MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICE FOR TALENT MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER ONE THE GENESIS OF GREATNESS I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me. Sir Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727)

One can only assess the role of talent in exceptional achievement and uncover the mystery that surrounds talent when one understands the origin of individual greatness. In recent times, several academic researchers as well as writers for magazines like Fortune and Forbes have explored the lives of great achievers and the strategies of great companies in order to establish the root causes of greatness. People’s talent featured as an important differentiating factor in their assessments. It is therefore of value to share some of their research findings at the outset, with a view to paving the way for creating a deliberate best practice for talent management. Arnold Ludwig, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, published the results of a wide-ranging research project covering more than eight hundred of the world’s great performers of the past five centuries. The aim was to identify the factors that typically influence a person’s success and ultimate rise to greatness. He set out to establish what links there were between greatness and mental health and appeared from the portals of wisdom with an inspiring template for assessing true greatness. His research made it clear that mental and behavioural programming during childhood and adolescence, and interpersonal influence and talent calibration during adulthood, made all the difference in the development of great people. His findings are of great significance to a society working its way towards talent equity and international competitiveness, after having been traumatised by political oppression and victimisation for centuries. Ludwig found that people who rise to greatness display a particular pattern in terms of their personal interests, responsiveness to inspirational role models and influences, their view of life, skills, virtues, drive, energy, independence, vulnerability and personal seal – a unique personal characteristic or style of creative presentation. The lives of great people also reflect a particular route and pattern, with many crossroads up and down the hills of life. Their ability to overcome adversity is a key factor in the lives of great achievers. All truly great people experienced deep troughs of fear, anxiety and adversity, but also high peaks of success, excitement and exhilaration during their lives. It is the combination of these alternating fortunes and failures, as well as personal attributes, that mould ordinary people into great people. Nelson Mandela made a wise statement when he said: “It is in the character of growth that we should learn from both pleasant and unpleasant experiences” (Crwys-Williams, 2004:73). Professor Ludwig identified the following drivers of exceptional achievement:

2

Talent Management

Element #1 - a passion for learning Great people start developing their profound uniqueness and talent at a young age. They exploit every possible opportunity to exercise and perfect their unique abilities. They are self-starters from youth and go beyond their formal education and training for self-development. Great people have a refined choice of true interest based on learning and experiences in their youth. They are unstoppable in their passion for learning and new information. They read profusely and widely, practise incessantly, study under top tutors, win important awards, give special recitals and become increasingly adept at their preferred medium of expression. Many deliberately seek out, or manage to attract, influential mentors and sponsors who recognise their unique abilities at some time during their training. They attract help from mentors in refining their skills and virtues and aiding them in their careers. They constantly seek ways to perfect and express their talent and construct their daily lives around this. We see this happening in our society on a very limited scale.

Element #2 - youth programming - responsiveness to inspirational role models and influences The “right” parents play a profound role in the development of great people. So do teachers, mentors and role models. Children and youths easily adopt the virtues of people they respect and love. Access to optimal resources like teachers and opportunities to pursue professional goals are critical. Too much money and status at a young age dull the need to achieve. Also, parents and families should not dull children’s need to achieve, nor should they discourage them from trying to achieve. Poverty is truly a blockage to development, because it limits exposure to successful role models and the development of a vision of personal success. The influence of creative parents who are accomplished in their own professions or trades is also important.

Element #3 - hunger for the excitement of achievement According to Ludwig, great people are typically restless, discontented and impatient. Success does not necessarily satisfy them for long. No sooner do they complete one project than they are ready to tackle another. Their psychological “unease” drives them to exceptional achievements. The human brain is a problem-solving organ. When it has no problems to solve, it creates them. When these brains cannot create problems, they begin to seek them out. People with great curiosity and intelligence need to keep their brains active by solving problems. They usually seek challenging problems – the bigger, the better. They seek solutions and sacrifice meals, sleep and relaxation in pursuit of a solution. They are able to work tirelessly and steadily on projects for extended periods of time. They love the creative highs and peak experiences gained from breakthroughs, which sometimes lead to them becoming addicted to their own thought processes. These people use their creative unease or tension to their advantage, either as a spur to productivity or in service of their art, social ventures or scientific pursuits.

Element #4 - ambition (the drive for supremacy) Great people are marked by personal boldness, magnetism and flair. They behave as if compelled to be the leader, champion, prophet, pioneer, master, founder, discoverer, originator, hero or godChapter 1: The genesis of greatness

3

like creator. When they encounter social resistance, they try to shape and bend their environments to suit them, rather than adapting to their environments. Although they attract many followers and make many converts, they also antagonise and alienate many people. Their drive for dominance is usually linked to supreme self-confidence and expansive aspirations. They also usually realise the expansive visions they hold for themselves. Einstein strove to develop a unified field theory of the universe and Freud worked out a system of psychology that embraced all humanity. Cecil John Rhodes pursued his “divine” mission to extend the influence of English-speaking people into Africa. Every great achiever sets out to create a new micro world, or to change one that is not desirable. Great people have an indestructible (iron) will to win and succeed. They display controlled aggression, precision, assertiveness, enthusiasm and energy and push themselves to the limit. Don King, legendary boxing promoter, had the following to say: “When I talk up a fight I inspire the combatants, I motivate them, I tell them ‘Don’t do ordinary with me. If you want to do ordinary, go somewhere else’. I say if you can’t take pain, don’t come. The will is the most powerful thing a man has. He can have the punch, agility, he can dance around but if he ain’t got the will to win he can’t make it. I’d rather have one great man than a thousand cowards” (Clinton van Rensburg, ‘King Don’, Interview with Don King, Sunday Times, 23 May 2004).

Element #5 - nonconformism/contrariness Great people are renowned for their contrariness and are often labelled “mavericks”. They are famous for their original thought and behaviour. They have an innate antagonism towards traditional beliefs and practices, as well as established forms of authority. They express this nonconformist attitude in different ways. They may excel within the framework of existing paradigms but ultimately break away to pursue novel visions, to attack unacceptable views and thus create new schools of thought, blaze new trails, make major discoveries, propose new products and discard prevalent views. Their personal style may seem antagonistic, confrontational, sarcastic and challenging, prompting other people to feel attacked. Great people have the ability to stand back and assess their environment. They are very tolerant of failure (their own, and that of others) and the emotional volatility of other people. Most have suffered some form of adversity in their young lives, which influenced their characters to be more tolerant. They may appear outwardly modest and unassuming, but will not back down from their unpopular views. They display a wild streak, which is not necessarily misguided. They do not simply rebel, but feel obliged to speak out; they do what they believe is right, even at great personal risk when prevailing ideologies challenge reason – much like those individuals who fought against the political regime of apartheid.

Element #6 - self-sufficiency and a preference for solitude Great people are typically loners who prefer to live in solitude. Many great people retreat from life and live as recluses because they are fully self-sufficient and have a strong capacity for being alone or leading a solitary existence. Solitude is important in the lives of creative people. They hate distractions and need solitude to reflect and focus their inner energies. Great people are known to have stormy relationships with friends and professional colleagues and tend to neglect their families. They are typically rebellious. They live a transcendental life and mentally and spiritually rise above ignorance, challenges and adversity. They do not spend time and energy on relationships with people, as they would then not have sufficient time to accomplish great things. 4

Talent Management

Element #7 - physical vulnerability Great people have a unique physical sensitivity to bacteria and viruses and many suffered from a minor disability like partial deafness or dyslexia. Others suffered the traumatic loss of one or both parents at an early age. This emotional and physical vulnerability or adversity programmes them for life in a different way than is the case with normal children or youths.

Element #8 - personal branding or seal Great people have a unique personal branding. A distinctive brand could be a unique charisma, signature, painting technique, or choice of colours when painting, e.g. blending of colours, designs or patterns that is distinct, as found in a painting by Picasso or Pierneef. Some are recognised by the shoes or glasses they wear or their brand or design of clothing. It may also be in the way they cut their hair, laugh, talk or walk. This brand or seal gives them a unique identity and stamp of authority. Certain elements of exceptional personal achievement provide us with an understanding of the influence the environment has on people’s behaviour, and on the development of their talent for careers, positions and campaigns. Having this information empowers us to observe, recognise and understand the characteristics and behaviours of talented people, and informs us of ways in which to manage that talent. It enables us to help people achieve personal mastery and selffulfilment.

Chapter 1: The genesis of greatness

5

CHAPTER TWO THE ANATOMY OF TALENT A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, pitch manure, solve equations, analyze a new problem, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein - The Notes of Lazarus Long A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. Abraham Maslow (1946)

ORIGIN OF THE TERM “TALENT” The term “talent” had its origin in ancient societies as a measure of weight or value. Since then, it has been used to describe skill, abilities, wealth, riches, abundance, aptitude, attitude, disposition, powers and gifts bestowed upon humans, a special innate gift which God has given a person, a creative or artistic nature, mental characteristics connected with mathematics, general intelligence or mental power, or being skilled in an art. (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1986: 2333) We apply the word “talent” indiscriminately when referring to a skill or aptitude, or to someone’s intellect, achievement or interest, as an expression and even when referring to the ability of a group of people. The word “talent” is frequently used in various applications within the family, education, business and economic environments. It is very often used to explain the inquisitiveness of a child, the signature expression or colour palette of an artist, the muscle power or speed of a sportsman, or the collective capabilities and achievements of a group of bright people. When you ask a group of young people what talent is, they tell you it is something that you do well. The indiscriminate use of the word “talent” for any virtuous human thing is confusing, especially when one seeks to bring discipline and success to the practices for creating and managing talent. I therefore made it one of the research objectives of this book to find an accurate and useful definition for talent – a definition that will help people to recognise, measure and appreciate talent.

A DEFINITION OF TALENT Talent is a person’s power or ability to repeatedly inspire and arouse emotion in other people. The arousal is not a once-off thing. The inspiration and arousal of emotion, e.g. happiness, joy, wonderment, excitement, ecstasy or confidence, are induced by a leader’s speech, a tenor’s voice, the lyrics to a song, a piece of music, a beautiful architectural design or well-produced motion picture, or an excellent sporting or business achievement. It is induced by the words of an author in a poem, or by a novel (think Dan Brown – The Da Vinci Code – with more than 50 million copies sold). Our lives are driven by the emotions people arouse in us. These emotions cover a broad spectrum, ranging from happiness to sadness, anxiety and fear to peacefulness, joy to depression, amazement to abhorrence. Exceptional deeds and achievements, beautiful paintings and songs and speeches that excite and inspire us, arouse emotion. So do displays of athletic skill and perseverance. We sense and experience people’s talent in theatres or sports stadiums, on tennis courts, in art galleries, on factory floors and in offices. We sense and experience the talent of people appearing on TV, and 6

Talent Management

even sense it in the boutique when buying clothes from a salesperson. We sense and experience a person’s talent as a talk-show host, or when corporate executives release the annual results of their corporations. We see, feel and hear talent in our daily lives. We have grown so used to experiencing good performances that we no longer sense talent in action anymore. We have developed a universal state of talent blindness and apathy. We even have some scientists trying to convince us that talent is not essential for greatness, but that the only requirement for greatness is hard work or “deliberate practice”. Fortunately common sense prevails. We know that one or more strong, innate intelligences always play a key role.

THE MANIFESTING ZONES OF TALENT Talent manifests itself in four activity zones of a society, viz. empowerment, liberation, entertainment and service to a team, institution or the public. Every contest and employment zone dictates what talent configuration is required for success. Success comes to those who master the discipline of success and succeed in structuring, calibrating and aligning their talent to the requirements of an industry.

THE FOUR ELEMENTS OF INDIVIDUAL TALENT A person’s talent is made up of four parts or elements. These elements interact and influence one another in an infinite number of combinations, thus producing the infinite number of unique talent configurations we find in societies.

Potency The first recognisable element of talent is potency. Potency is a person’s power, influence and capability to achieve results or effects, to make things happen and to effect thought and feeling in others (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1986: 1775). Potency is the personal power and influence that people in an environment of contest, change and development sense and experience in their contact with the person. Potency is formed by the person’s unique combinations of mental and physical powers, visible inner energy and enthusiasm, aura, attractiveness, confidence, status, stature, charisma, ambition, will, wielding of authority, commitment and perseverance. We see and feel potency when we encounter it in action, and, because of its influential impact and visibility, we know when it’s not there, e.g. when an inspirational and compassionate leader like Mandela departs from the political sphere of a society, the citizens and the world know and experience it. When a soccer player who scores at every opportunity misses a match or leaves the team, his team, coach and fans are in despair. When the host on a popular TV talk show decides to resign and pursue other career interests, she causes a stir in the industry and amongst millions of admirers.

Truest interest The second element of talent is truest interest. Truest interest (or passion) is a person’s deepseated, robust love for a personal expression that results in that person’s most satisfying emotional peak experiences (ecstasies) and offering of exchangeable value. Such expression manifests itself in one of many potential ways – from artistry to entrepreneurship, sport to leadership, scientific innovation to architecture, etc. Only one form of personal expression deeply captivates and inspires the spirit of the individual during his or her life. The life history of Thomas Edison, father of modernChapter 2: The anatomy of talent

7

day electricity, reveals that his truest interest was that of invention. He nourished his soul by discovering many new ways to make life more interesting and convenient for mankind (Ellis, 1974: 16). A South African, Koos Bekker, CEO of NASPERS and father of paid television in South Africa, recently received a World Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the South African region and said afterwards that he had merely pursued his truest interest of developing new concepts and building business structures that create economic value.

Alpha skill intelligences The third element of talent comprises a set of skill intelligences. We can call them alpha skill intelligences, as they are a person’s natural, first-order mental and physical learning and performance abilities to compete, conquer and survive in an environment of contest. Our alpha skill intelligences are our natural athletic, abstract/analytical, activating, awareness and artistic/creative skills. Great achievers are people who have developed profound mastery in one or more of these intelligences.

Virtue intelligences The fourth element of talent is virtue intelligence. “Virtue” refers to a person’s moral excellence, integrity of character and uprightness of conduct (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1986: 2556). Virtue intelligences are a person’s learnt, innate values, norms, standards and sensitivities which are required to sustain emotionally gratifying, inspirational and constructive relationships and cooperation in an environment of contest, change and transformation. Prudence, temperance, frugality, chastity, humility, sincerity, moderation and cleanliness are examples of virtue intelligences. Fortunately, civilisation bears testimony to the thousands of people who intuitively used their talent to make the world a better and more interesting place for all. People like Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Beethoven, Edison, Rembrandt, Picasso and Mandela enriched the world with their talent. We are constantly aroused and amazed by the wonderful efforts of these people. We can sense a number of power carriers or intelligences in people when scrutinising the factors that make a human the unique animal that it is. Here are some of them: Humans possess the unique faculty to select the manner in which they make a living, they have an animalistic drive to conquer and succeed, and they command a set of higher-order intelligences which allow them to migrate, develop, survive and succeed where lower-order animals would have failed. These power carriers allow people to • change themselves and their environment to attain maximum self-gratification • be successful in more than one career during their lifetime (People thus don’t have to suffer the stress of boredom and toxic organisations.) • experience personal mastery and wellness, if so desired • engineer personal breakout achievements, if desired. We can picture talent as a composite delta formed by the interacting deltas of truest interest, potency and the two types of intelligences. The deltas indicate that change is always taking place in these areas, and that a significant change in one area influences the form of the other areas and also the form as a whole. 8

Talent Management

Truest Interest (Passion)

Potency Alpha Skill Intelligence

Virtue Intelligence

The Anatomy of Talent – The Talent Delta daj©2007

I have selected the talent delta image as a mental model so that we can remember that talent is a composite phenomenon that is responsive to change, and to empower people in the following ways: • to assess their talent in terms of a framework • to conduct personal introspections and discover their truest interest and dominant intelligences • to develop those intelligences and virtues that are critical to success • to develop a mode of behaviour that will invariably result in personal mastery and success. Gaining a better understanding of talent empowers leaders, coaches and administrators of teams and institutions, as well as parents, teachers and academics to • guide and inspire new employees of institutions and members of teams • calibrate team and institutional talent and build achievement cultures in which talent is respected, measured and compensated • experience the fulfilment of seeing their pupils and protégés succeed in life. We can create a template for talent selection and attunement using these four elements as a basis. The benefits of using the elements in compiling a talent specification for a position in a team or organisation are numerous. We • reduce the risk of making the wrong selection and attunement, thus benefiting the individual and the employer • have a basis for storing individual talent data • can compare and rank the talent of people on a vertical, horizontal and lateral basis • can deploy people with the appropriate talent in critical jobs.

Chapter 2: The anatomy of talent

9

Organisations should ideally have a talent specification for every position. The position should be analysed to determine the requirements and these should be translated into the personality and behavioural attributes that are required for success. Example: TALENT SPECIFICATION Position: LIFE INSURANCE SALES MANAGER ELEMENT

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

Potency

Proficiency and effectiveness in coaching and directing sales staff in closing deals and

Demonstrated ability to achieve significant milestones in personal life and career

making policy sales

development

Profound knowledge of the wealth management industry (products and legislation) and ability to advise people on the best ways of long-term investment Profound strengths in activating people, strong sensing ability, athleticism with high stamina level and abstract analytical mind Profound integrity, honesty and diligence

Passionate about the longterm financial wellness of people. Strong evolving interest in financial performance of funds, equities and other investment instruments High work rate and perseverance Charismatic with high emotional intelligence Ability to work with numbers and abstract concepts Leads a respectable life and maintains sound, honest and open relations

Truest interest

Alpha skill intelligences

Virtue intelligences

10

Talent Management

CHAPTER THREE THE STATE OF TALENT MANAGEMENT One thing that I have taken from my parents’ house is that I am unafraid to expect a fair amount from people. It makes them so much better – you’re doing them a disservice if you don’t. I think some of the saddest things in the world are when you don’t expect enough from your children. James McNerney, CEO of Boeing Aircraft Company (2005)

We have arrived at a crossroads as regards talent creation in South Africa. We must be bold enough to admit we can do better with the creation of human capital and then embark on a new road with talent management. The futures of nations are determined by the stock and quality of their human capital. We find evidence of this in the economic history of every nation that has exploded onto the economic scene since the 17th century. Those countries that were bold enough to pour money into education and training, started companies and industries that today dominate the global economy. Countries devastated by war – like Japan, Germany and South Korea – made complete turnarounds after investing in people and, through their skills, they now rule the highvalue manufacturing roost. The solution to South Africa’s social turnaround lies in creating an abundance of talent and nurturing the talent of its youth. The country has five million young people who are agitating for jobs and are ready to learn. Institutions make profound statements about the need to keep the talent stream flowing and broadening, but they are forced through legislation to support a talentcreation bureaucracy that undermines talent supply.

THE SUPPLY SIDE Every year close to a million naturally gifted young people are lost from the value chain of the economy. Half of them drop out during the schooling process and the other half are lost before they can graduate from a college or university. This loss is caused by a multitude of strong, disabling beliefs, such as the following: • Talent is a rare phenomenon and only a small portion of people could possibly have valuable talent. • There is a war for talent and only high remuneration levels can solve the problem. • We can import all the special skills the country requires. • Employment is scarce and acquiring special skills and qualifications is a waste of valuable time. • Labour is expensive and lean organisations are beautiful and better. • It is better (for the sake of social harmony) to invest in social grants, rather than in talent cultivation.

Chapter 3: The state of talent management

11

We thus experience talent apathy on a national scale – there is a general disregard of talent and a complete neglect of the natural achievement drive vibrating in all people. An understanding of and respect for the powers and faculties that make people, organisations and societies successful is grossly lacking. Talent apathy represents a mental lameness in society; it stifles harmony as well as exciting economic growth and prosperity. Because of the high rate of talent loss, large portions of communities drift through life as a burden to society. Millions of people can’t find jobs, settle into obscure jobs or turn to crime or dependency and are thus lost to teams, institutions, industries and the economy. In his Social Contract, Ardrey explained that people aim for superiority, but that, when they lose self-confidence and courage, it is channelled to the useless side of life (Ardrey, 1972: 104). Studies on the productivity of employees in large institutions have revealed that employee productivity peaks at 60%, with many employees generating productivity levels of less than 50%. The reason for this achievement gap is the misalignment between individual talent and job requirements. Research has indicated that twelve people in a million typically rise to greatness or eminence in their lives (Ludwig, 1995: 18), whilst, in business, only eleven out of the universe of the 500 largest institutions in the United States of America, tracked over a ten-year period, lived up to the yardstick for greatness (Collins, 2001: 227). One can assume this situation was the result of poor talent identification, beneficiation and application. Each of us can be inspired by the potential that goes to waste, and can seek to change this. In 1943, Abraham Maslow, known for his work on motivation and the hierarchy of needs, wrote in A Theory of Motivation that about 40% of the citizens of a society have their self-esteem needs satisfied and only 10% their self-actualisation needs. In his view, self-actualisation means experiencing fully, vividly, selfishly, with full concentration and total absorption – the person is wholly and fully human. It is an ongoing process which demands that you use your intelligence. It means working to do well at what you do, always striving for excellence. This situation has not changed when one looks at the numbers of unemployed, poorly performing, emotionally distressed people and criminals in our society. Professor William James of Harvard University, who is recognised as one of the most distinguished American psychologists and philosophers, once said: “Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake. We are making use of only a small part of our physical and mental resources. Stating the thing broadly, the human individual thus lives far within his limits. He possesses power of various sorts which he habitually fails to use” (Carnegie, 1984: 156).

TALENT MANAGEMENT AS A WAY OF LIFE A society is a group of unequal beings organised to meet common needs. The strongest and most durable of societies will be founded on the maximum development of its members. A society so designed as to present its members with equal opportunity to achieve identity, stimulation and security will survive the trials of group selection; whereas one that fails in its psychological function will, in the long competition, be selected out (Ardrey, 1970: 92).

12

Talent Management

The lesson we can take from this hypothesis is that a strong and enduring society is based on the optimal development of its members and that talent apathy and discrimination will ultimately lead to anarchy and self-destruction. There are many social and economic reasons for building a culture of talent management within families, institutions and communities. Sustained personal mastery, worthiness and self-fulfilment are the overriding goals. When people have no personal mastery and worthiness, they have nothing that really matters in life. Talent management is both a craft and a virtue that enables and empowers people to induce and gain personal mastery in those occupations that nourish their truest interest and feeling of personal fulfilment. Talent management liberates the individual to pursue and experience life as a rainbow of parallel streams with exciting, intermittent challenges in which talent provides the amazing ability and leverage to conquer any number and variety of life’s contests. The art of talent management is a legacy of many centuries, created by occasional discovery, enlightenment and excitement. Institutions that were created to make life easier and worthier for people were responsible for the dominant paradigm that life is a single stream of painful struggles with scarce blessings, rare fulfilment and lasting dependency, thus calibrating people for a life of struggle. Talent management breaks this mould and sets people free to pursue their passions.

THE SEARCH FOR WORTHINESS AND FULFILMENT BY LEADERS AND TOP ACHIEVERS Many business leaders, CEOs and senior executives in large companies as well as top achievers are today not benefiting emotionally or spiritually from the single stream of repetitive and boring daily, quarterly and annual contests they face in the business and institutional worlds. They have become bored and exhausted and eventually face burn-out. Some retire early and “downshift” to escape the corporate treadmill, striving to protect their sanity and wellness for new, more exciting contests. Some close their businesses or sell out to escape life in the fast lane and flee the rat race. Some give away the billions of dollars they accumulated during their lives as entrepreneurs and business leaders. Some take sabbaticals and go into poverty-stricken areas to build houses for those who live destitute lives. Some adopt abandoned children from poor communities. These leaders have one thing in common: They want to refresh their vitality, passion and feeling of worthiness and fulfilment. They want to plow back into their communities. They want to make new discoveries and find new ways to express their active imaginations. During their search for worthiness, some lose the way completely, some perish and others complete their life course in solitude, with drugs and medicines as their only friends. This phenomenon and the physical, emotional and spiritual burn-out associated with brutal workplaces is a wake-up call in the face of the growing demand for competitive talent in many countries. It is a signal that the competitive world must invent a new life management philosophy and new institutional contests and performance measurement processes to refresh the neurons and neurotransmitters in a productive environment, thus inspiring and leveraging the onboard talent.

WORKERS’ SEARCH FOR WORTHINESS AND FULFILMENT Some time ago, Forbes Magazine carried an article about 5 000 idle, obsolete workers in the job bank (a temporary holding pen for workers awaiting reassignment) of General Motors (GM) in the USA. It reported that many of these workers play cards, watch movies or occasionally do Chapter 3: The state of talent management

13

paperwork and voluntary community work. Some attend classes. These idle workers cost GM about $750 million a year – it is too expensive to offer them early-retirement packages, but they lost their jobs because of disappointing car sales, brutal industry competition, rising plant productivity and high health-care costs. GM needs to shed a further 25 000 workers by 2008 and has to close three or four factories. Workers who are now idle, once held jobs such as installing the second seatbelt in a van – some of them had been doing the same job for thirteen years. What an incredible waste of human talent! (Jonathan Fahey and Joann Muller, ‘Idling’, 17 October 2005). Silver Birch, an American Indian spirit guide who lived many decades ago, once said: “The sad tragedy of your world is the millions completely ignorant of any spiritual truths. They are unaware of their earthly purpose, they have no knowledge of what it is they have to achieve before they leave it. Their values are wrong, as are their priorities; their perspective is out of focus, their standards are false. Their lives are sterile and barren, they do not fulfill themselves and they have lost their way. They live in a constant maze and cannot find the path out of it” (Storm, 1969: 63). Spiritual warriors don’t see contests as struggles, nor do they talk about them as conflicts or battles. They see a contest as an emotional, physical and mental challenge that holds the promise of a peak experience. In the contest, you can showcase your skills and virtues for the sharp eyes and ears of judges and convince them of your right to be the winner.

THE YOUTH’S SEARCH FOR WORTHINESS AND FULFILMENT Young people exit from schools or institutions of higher learning with a weak sense of worthiness and of their own potential. They have no dreams for the future, no idea of their truest interests and strongest talents, and no understanding of life as a set of streams full of contests that must help sustain their worthiness. Many millions of young people don’t find work or migrate from day job to day job before retreating into family and work relationships that ultimately destroy their childhood ambitions, dreams and sense of worthiness. My job as a consultant recently took me to a project site to assess how the client company utilises its labour force. One of the male employees of the company, who worked with the most basic of tools, asked me what he had to do to let his employer know he had a diploma in computer science and a driver’s licence. Nobody had asked about his qualifications when he applied for work. The employer had assumed he was a general worker or labourer and stuck a pick and shovel in his hands. Back at the client’s offices I checked his file: There were no documents of any kind indicating his qualifications. I then checked other employee files – there were no documents indicating anyone’s level of education, skills or further education. People were not being employed for their mental skills, but for their muscle power. Many young people lose their way and become slaves to crime, drugs and promiscuity. The disillusioned have become a critical mass which is dragging down the youth. During a recent business trip to a rural town, I saw many young, black girls walking around with babies on their hips. In response to my question why this seemed to be a common phenomenon, a young man said that it was a way for young people to obtain money. As a strategy to counteract poverty, the state subsidises young, unmarried women who give birth. This type of strategy will not cultivate talent – it will only increase the number of dependants. Young people need help on a massive 14

Talent Management

scale to become empowered and to express their creative power in a productive setting. Vietnam introduced free secondary education in 1990, and today the country has a 90% literacy rate. In 2005, Vietnam’s more than 7% economic growth was surpassed only by China, the world’s fastestgrowing economy. Nadine Gordimer, an eighty-something South African who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991, was recently attacked and robbed in her home by youths. They took her car, money and wedding ring. After the attack, she said that the arm of the young man who had held her during the attack was smooth and muscular, which led her to think: “Should these hands and this arm not be busy with a trade, rather than with this robbery?” (Stephen Bevan, Daily Telegraph, 2 November 2006).

THE DEMAND SIDE – WHY TALENT IS AN ISSUE Several years ago, one of America's most prestigious management consulting firms launched an investigation into the battle for talent. It wanted to show how the top-performing companies in America differed from other firms in the way they handle employee-related matters like hiring and promotions. Thousands of questionnaires were sent to company managers across the United States. Eighteen companies were singled out for special attention, and the consultants spent up to three days at each firm interviewing everyone, from the CEO down to the human resource staff. The research team concluded that the very best companies had leaders who were obsessed with talent. Those leaders recruited ceaselessly, finding and hiring as many top performers as possible. They singled out and segregated their stars, rewarding them disproportionately and pushing them into increasingly senior positions. “Bet on the natural athletes, the ones with the strongest intrinsic skills.” The authors admiringly quoted Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric, as saying: “Don't be afraid to promote stars without specifically relevant experience, seemingly over their heads” (Malcolm Gladwell, ‘Talent Myth - Are Smart People Overrated?’ Internet Forum 2002). The authors of the report wrote that success in the modern economy belonged to companies with “the talent mindset: the deep-seated belief that having better talent at all levels is how you outperform your competitors”. Unfortunately, several of the companies that were singled out as being radically successful in the fight for talent made history as the biggest failures in US corporate history. Enron, Tyco and WorldCom, now criminalised for the largest institutional collapses in American corporate history, were amongst those companies which were highly rated by the research team for their talent management strategies. In court cases that followed their demise, their failures were ascribed to investor greed, market expectation, Wall Street hype and pressure on corporate leaders and executives to achieve impossible performance targets. Their failure was never ascribed to poor talent management. In one case, however, the CEO who received a jail sentence admitted that he had no understanding of energy technology and corporate finance, but that he had moved to the top of the corporation through his preaching and coaching powers.

Chapter 3: The state of talent management

15

In 1999, the share price of one of the world’s leading IT corporations, once one of the darlings of Wall Street, jumped when a new female chief executive was appointed. During her tenure, the share price fell by more than half, and recovered when she was fired. The company had headhunted the CEO from another high-flying company at the time, as it was looking for an exceptional person to restore its fortunes. In the process of head-hunting, it had assumed that any supremely talented individual could single-handedly transform a business with his or her vision and charisma. “The failed appointment proved that great business depends on the talents of thousands of people, not just one,” the newspaper reporter concluded (John Kay, Business Day - 16 February 2005: 9). What the situation may have proven is that the talent calibration – when it came to the CEO position – had gone wrong. Talent management matches talent supply and demand. It identifies and measures a person’s interest and physical, mental, emotional and spiritual strengths and aligns them to the requirements of a job, contest, life goal or dream. It assesses one’s preparedness and fitness for the job or contest and indicates the particular shifts and actions required in order for one to triumph. It promotes accuracy and precision in the placement, allocation and utilisation of talent. Institutions and individuals who calibrate their talent to sustain maximum emotion from the inner circle, judges and clients, always end up as the winners. Talent management enhances a person's self-assessment capability and facilitates a change in assessment and measurement accuracy. When required, it adjusts the person's measurement capability and execution to decrease error and enhance success. In the media, we read of failures in talent management every day… Institutional audits by the Office of the Auditor General regularly produce qualified reports. The negative variances from policies and process standards are ascribed to people, process and governance problems. On closer scrutiny, an apparent lack of talent is causing vacancies and inappropriate staffing, resulting in a breakdown in discipline and governance. Poor talent management drives the apparent lack of appropriate talent. People are appointed to and retained in key positions where they destroy the institutional gems that colleagues and predecessors created and built up with their passion, proficiency and commitment, or they fail to assess the prevailing social dynamics and the impact thereof on the future society, and therefore fail to act. Sportsmen are selected out of position in teams, and then those teams fail miserably when tested against international competition. These experiences of failure would suggest that the managers and custodians of human capital have not yet succeeded in clarifying what talent is and how it should be identified, classified, calibrated, developed and leveraged. This must be changed. We cannot, in this post-modern age in which we have uncovered a great deal of the world’s physical secrets, still be ignorant about talent and its purpose. We must start by defining talent correctly and then spread the best practices for managing and maximising talent within all families and institutions in this country.

16

Talent Management

CHAPTER FOUR BEST PRACTICE FOR TALENT MANAGEMENT Whatever name we give it, we shall always find in human beings this great line of activity – the struggle to rise from an inferior position to a superior position, from defeat to victory, from below to above. It begins in our earliest childhood; it continues to the end of our lives. Alfred Adler (1932)

Talent is the driving force behind the wellness and survival of societies. Emotions like happiness and sadness are triggered by pictures, movements, sounds, fragrances, tastes and touches that impact our senses and stimulate neurotransmitters to flow, which, in turn, influences the loading of our neural pathways, thereby influencing our behaviour. The paintings and sculptures of old masters arouse as much emotion as the most recent triumphs of the tennis player, Roger Federer, or Formula 1 driver, Michael Schumacher. When the red and yellow flag was raised after another victory for Ferrari and Michael Schumacher, millions of people jumped in the air with outstretched arms. Hundreds of millions of people watch Tiger Woods on television competing against the best golfers in the world, and marvel at records set by the former master, Jack Nicklaus. Talent is a key determinant of personal mastery. It is a natural endowment, possessed by all people in varying configurations. When people leverage their talent they arouse our emotions, and they do so by • capturing our attention through their display of extraordinary skill, virtue or beauty and causing excitement, happiness, nostalgia or fear • satisfying our needs through some form of unique value contribution or service to humanity • showing a sincere interest in us and in the development and empowerment of people. In 1970, Robert Ardrey, the famous anthropologist, wrote in The Social Contract: “Not for money and not for space, neither for sex nor a table in heaven do humans seek to best each other. We obey a law that, for all we know, may be as ancient as life on this planet. We seek self-fulfillment. Within the limits and the directions of our individual genetic endowment we seek such a state of satisfaction as will inform us as to why we were born. We have no true choice. The force that presses on us is as large as all vital processes, and were it not so, then life would return to the swamp. If there is hope for humans it is because we are animals” (1970: 92).

TALENT MANAGEMENT The purpose of talent management is to identify and maximise individual and institutional talent for personal, institutional, investor and stakeholder benefit. A deliberate practice of talent management comprises six talent management practices – creation, calibration, cultivation, leveraging, caring and coaching. These practices can be considered key performance areas. Collectively, they ensure the maximum availability, optimal leverage and wellness of great talent. Leaders, managers, teachers, coaches, parents, colleagues, investors and benefactors experience self-fulfilment when they sense and acknowledge the talent lurking in people and help them bring Chapter 4: Best practice for talent management

17

it to fruition. The best companies and institutions typically have the following practices in place for managing talent:

1. Creating talent – talent comes to the fore when we demand, identify and reward it Institutions, both private and public, create a space and attraction for talent. They create opportunities for self-actualisation. They also function as the wellsprings of talent because of the education, training and development opportunities they provide. They need people with developed talent to perform and compete effectively, but they also need people with developed talent and secure incomes to buy their products.

CREATING TALENT

1. Planning future talent supply 2. Employer of choice 3. Young talent sourcing 4. Tutor coaching 5. Young professional exposures 6. Hiring for behavioural skills 7. Referral recruitment 8. Sharing best practices

PLANNING FUTURE TALENT SUPPLY Leading institutions and companies assess the future impact of their business growth plans and employee attrition and set targets for the human capital they will need in the short, medium and long term. To ensure a steady supply and counter the effects of attrition, some firms run in-house learnerships, graduate-in-training schemes and internships, award bursaries or provide study loans. A deliberate practice for talent creation considers both the demand for and the supply of talent. On the supply side, demographics and maturity rates are key factors. The effect of birth and fatality rates on future supply must be considered. Similarly, we need to track registration and qualification output rates at institutions of learning. In organisations, resignations, demotions, dismissals and retirements are key factors to track, as they have a bearing on future supply. We also need to recognise that people (entrepreneurs) create the demand for new talent, and not only investment in infrastructure. Creating an abundance of talent results in more people with the capacity to create enterprises, thus inducing a new virtuous cycle of economic activity. On the demand side, organisations track investment, technological and industrial change, innovation and market dynamics to assess the future need for talent.

STRIVING TO BE AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE - CRAFTING A COMPELLING EMPLOYMENT BRAND Winning companies and institutions compete just as fiercely for talent as they do for customers. Great companies answer the question: “Why should a great person want to work here?” Mediocre 18

Talent Management

companies cannot answer that question. Employment brands are designed creatively and built conscientiously over time. The payoff in the talent marketplace is huge. One expert stated that if a company gets on the Fortune “Best Places to Work” list, it is worth R80 million in free PR. By getting onto lists like these, the company focuses on important talent practices and processes. Getting onto “Best Places to Work” and “Employer of the Year” lists thus becomes a strategic employment objective.

YOUNG TALENT SOURCING – CAREER EXHIBITIONS Winning companies and institutions work with institutions of higher learning and participate in career exhibitions to make young people aware of employment opportunities. Leading firms send scouts to institutions of learning to find outstanding talent and place lists of job opportunities at universities – they invite students to list their names if they are interested. Afterwards, officials from the firms talk to faculty members about the applicants and recruit employees based on their feedback.

TUTOR COACHING Winning companies and institutions visit schools and other institutions of learning and add their considerable institutional muscle to enhancing the capacity of tutors to teach by upgrading facilities like sports fields and laboratories. Coaching campaigns like Adopt-a-School have a mutually beneficial effect. These companies assess the availability of textbooks and scientific equipment, and donate the required learning aids.

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL EXPOSURES – EXPOS Leading companies work with institutions of learning and agencies of development to run competitive exposures for young scientists. This type of initiative offers a recipe for all professions to attract and identify transparently early developing talent.

HIRING FOR BEHAVIOURAL SKILLS Winning companies and institutions recruit employees based on behavioural competencies. The assumption is that the right emotional intelligence ensures that you will do a great job for the company. A primary reason for people becoming dissatisfied with their jobs is the poor fit between culture and personal style. Winning companies and institutions eliminate this problem by delineating the competencies that are vital for success and then hire for them, according to David Forman, Chief Learning Officer of the Human Capital Institute ([email protected]).

LEVERAGING REFERRAL RECRUITMENT Winning companies, where talent is the number one issue on the minds of CEOs, use referral recruiting to attract and create talent. Candidates who come from employee and alumni referrals are more qualified, get off to a faster start, do a better job and have higher retention rates. It is also the least expensive recruiting method.

Chapter 4: Best practice for talent management

19

SHARING BEST PRACTICES THAT WORK In leading companies, the single biggest impact that HR professionals have on talent management is to be the conduit for outstanding talent management best practices. There is always a company, group or department that performs better than others. HR professionals look for the positive difference, analyse why it works and pass on the practice to others within the organisation. This is knowledge sharing at its best.

2. Calibrating talent 1. Measuring talent

CALIBRATING TALENT

2. Talent specifications 3. Forced ranking - build equity 4. Deploy best talent to critical jobs 5. Creative assignments

MEASURING TALENT - DEVELOPING TALENT SPECIFICATIONS FOR POSITIONS AND CAREERS Leading companies put an effort into measuring the quantity and quality of the talent they employ. The man specification has always been an important instrument in the bag of the organisational planner and recruiter. We need to enhance the content and quality of the man specification though and therefore use an instrument which we can call the talent specification. The standard practice for aligning individual talent with organisational needs has to be done correctly and on a consistent basis. The talent specification (departing from the term “man specification”) must describe the profile of the ideal incumbent in terms of potency (the person’s ability to make things happen), truest interest (or passion), skill and virtue intelligences (a person’s innate survival skills and virtues), and achievements (experiences).

DEVELOPING AND CAPTURING THE TALENT PROFILES OF EMPLOYEES Creating a talent database for the organisation is a key talent management practice. Ideally, the organisation should be able to search for employees whose talent aligns with that required by the vacant (or new) position or campaign. Most organisations have no information on the talent profiles of their employees beyond their qualifications and employment records. Imagine the strategic talent profile you can generate for planning and deployment purposes when you have a process that develops talent profiles and a database that captures, stores, categorises and classifies individual talent in terms of truest interest, potency, and skill and virtue intelligences.

20

Talent Management

FORCED RANKING - IDENTIFYING TALENT LEVELS AND BUILDING TALENT EQUITY Leading companies rank the talent in their organisations in order to identify the high flyers. Companies that treat everyone the same do a disservice to their employees, stakeholders and shareholders. A systematic, tough and responsive talent calibration process should be used by organisations to identify talent for the critical jobs and achievements that impact on the organisation. Employees also understand what they have to do to leverage and maximise their own talent so that they are not branded as underachievers. Employees are at different levels of mastery, have different levels of personal impact and make varying value contributions. The focus is on building talent equity (with everyone contributing more value), not on promoting equality.

DEPLOYING THE BEST PEOPLE TO THE MOST CRITICAL JOBS Agile, talent-driven organisations are continually looking at their most pressing needs and ensuring that top talent is assigned to the most significant tasks. This approach can be disconcerting for some, but the highly structured, bureaucratic alternative is a death knell. There are two types of organisations in the 21st century – the quick and the dead.

BEING CREATIVE AS REGARDS THE TYPES OF ASSIGNMENTS, TEAMS AND JOBS THE ORGANISATION PROVIDES Organisations need to provide a wealth of different assignment exposures to cultivate talent. Employees must be pushed to connect and collaborate with colleagues. They must be challenged to accelerate their development by breaking out of vertical silos, thinking horizontally and promoting cross-functional activity. Action learning initiatives through task teams and special projects pay great dividends for both the individual and the company.

3. Cultivating talent

CULTIVATING TALENT

1. Mentor development 2. Holding management accountable 3. Firing poor managers 4. High standards 5. Rewarding achievements 6. Forced ranking 7. Career planning

CULTIVATE LEADERS AND MANAGERS AS MENTORS (AS PART OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT) Great leaders and managers are at the core of a talent management culture. They are brave and trust employees with new initiatives. They allow them to take ownership of projects. They intuitively read the talent of employees and know who to make responsible for a task or project. Great leaders and managers empower and excite employees by labelling tasks according to people’s

Chapter 4: Best practice for talent management

21

names: A task given to the metallurgist, George Hudson, becomes the Hudson Project, etc. Great leaders and managers know that work can become monotonous and boring and therefore they maintain excitement and inspiration with new challenges. The most vital relationship to career and professional development is that of the leader, manager and employee. Leaders and managers are the force multipliers of a company. Great leaders and managers nurture and develop tens or even hundreds of employees. The job of the leader and manager must be defined as coach, mentor and advisor. Mindsets must change and accountabilities must be put into place in order to foster positive behaviours.

HOLDING MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTABLE FOR TALENT Accountability for talent cultivation is part of the formula for enhancing talent management and making it a best practice in an organisation. Managers are accountable for developing their employees (not losing key contributors to turnover), for promoting knowledge sharing and collaboration, and for making good hiring decisions. Executives are accountable for the strength of talent pools, for the depth of bench strength (the number of superb employees available for an assignment) and for instituting effective talent management practices. Accountability is critical in developing and enhancing a culture of high performance. Employees should be held accountable for their own professional development and ongoing learning.

FIRING POOR MANAGERS Leading organisations fire poorly performing managers. A major source of intra-organisational stress is poor talent managers and managers who do nothing to restrict or remove poor performers. Almost everyone in the company knows who the poor performers are; management therefore loses credibility when it fails to act.

HIGH STANDARDS Excellent performance and disciplined behaviour from everyone is non-negotiable in managing talent. Nothing less than excellence will suffice. This requirement permeates the culture of an organisation so that all levels are committed to a supreme standard of talent management. Scorecards reflect measures that maximise achievement and talent creation, calibration, cultivation, leveraging, caring and coaching.

REWARDING OUTSTANDING AND BREAKOUT ACHIEVEMENT People who provide greater value than others to the enterprise with their achievements should receive greater rewards, recognition and growth opportunities. An incentive policy promotes excellence and breakout achievements throughout the enterprise, recognising the best performers and bestowing rewards for achievement.

FORCED RANKING Forced ranking of employees on the basis of talent has many benefits for the organisation and the employee. Employees have different levels of personal impact and make varying value 22

Talent Management

contributions during their careers because of the maturity and mastery of their talent. By sensing and acknowledging differences in talent between colleagues, employees are influenced in the assessment of their talent and invariably this leads to self-improvement initiatives. Teams and institutions benefit from forced ranking, because the stock of most appropriate talent can be leveraged to exploit the best opportunities. When teams and institutions pursue breakout achievements, they can deploy their best talent to enhance the potential for success.

CAREER PLANNING - SUPPORTING INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS Employees must know where they stand in terms of their performance strengths and weaknesses and the competencies they need to further develop for promotion. Career development maps and plans need to be in place so they can drive their own careers, participate in new activities and achieve even greater success. Without these development maps and plans, people and companies lose focus of key development interventions.

4. Leveraging talent 1. Motivation

LEVERAGING TALENT

2. Employee involvement 3. Breakout achievement 4. Share the credit

MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES The aim of leveraging talent is to ensure that employees’ talents are optimally deployed and engaged to have a maximum impact and effect in implementing strategic organisational goals and objectives. The best-known management practices used for leveraging talent are project and performance management. Motivation is a key element of both practices. Motivation is also a key process in realising breakout achievements and in talent management that results in an abundance of top talent. It also influences the optimal deployment of talent, thereby influencing accelerated economic growth.

INVOLVE EMPLOYEES IN VALIDATING THE TALENT REQUIREMENTS OF THE BUSINESS The strategic intent of an organisation is similar to the truest interest of the individual – it must be validated continuously. The dynamics of market and industry can influence, change and even invalidate strategic intent. Involving employees in assessing the talent impact of the organisational vision, mission, goals and programmes has many benefits. It assures the buy-in and attention of employees and provides them with opportunities to leverage their talent in achieving strategic organisational goals. It also informs leadership of the viability and feasibility of the strategy, taking into consideration the stock and quality of talent. Chapter 4: Best practice for talent management

23

DEPLOY TALENT TO ACHIEVE BUSINESS OR INSTITUTIONAL GOALS Business and institutional goals must be broken down into projects and tasks that can be owned and managed by teams and individuals. The Balanced Scorecard is a useful tool for ensuring that the organisation concentrates on the drivers of performance in the key areas of emotional satisfaction, viz. client, investor, management and employee satisfaction. Bestowing ownership of a project or task on individuals ensures accountability and stimulates their inspiration. The level and extent of leverage of individual talent must be measured and assessed on the basis of achieved results and organisational benefits.

SHARE THE CREDIT - ACKNOWLEDGE THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EMPLOYEES IN CREATING TALENT AND SHARE IT WITH ALL (ESPECIALLY WITH LEADERSHIP) Employees are inspired and empowered when they achieve business and institutional goals. If talent management is a corporate strategic goal, employees who contribute extensively should be rewarded. This inspiration and empowerment is enriched and intensified when results are publicly highlighted and rewarded. It is as important to publish the results as it is to offer some form of bonus or incentive.

5. Talent caring 1. Personal wellness

TALENT CARING

2. Employee engagement 3. Inspiration 4. Building vital inner circles 5. Talent retention

FOCUSING ON PERSONAL WELLNESS This is the most rewarding talent management indicator to monitor on a consistent basis. Engagement and output are enhanced by focusing on the personal wellness of employees – especially potent employees with a great spread of intelligences. They are normally the plough horses of the organisation and not the show horses, and they tend to burn out. Emotional and physical relapses by star performers don’t come often, but, when they do, they are seriously disruptive. A well-designed achiever wellness programme will ensure that star performers stay healthy, inspired and involved. The physical and neural architecture of the human body requires routine maintenance to function at peak levels. The mind, muscles, organs, systems and processes must work effectively without the help of substances like alcohol and nicotine. We must manage our health through the right nutrition, and through physical, emotional and spiritual exercise. We must monitor the rhythm and health of our vital organs, as well as the quality of our thoughts and our sense of worthiness. When we do this, we sustain levels of performance that drive us to the pinnacle of achievement.

24

Talent Management

Coaching wellness must cover the vital practices that govern personal wellness. Coaching must create the physical, spiritual and emotional firewalls that protect us against the environmental, spiritual and emotional viruses that attack us. Without firewalls, the pervasive viruses invariably penetrate us, turning us into patients and victims. We must have knowledge of the most common and deadly social viruses. We must know that total wellness is a function of the right physical, emotional, working and spiritual practices. We must know that negative thoughts and substance abuse break down our potency. We must understand where moods and feelings come from. We must understand why substances alter moods and behaviours, and we must know why people are driven to substance abuse.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT This is another key talent management indicator to monitor on a consistent basis. Engagement is the emotional bond between the employee and the organisation. It is the feeling of co-ownership. Engagement is much more comprehensive than employee satisfaction and it derives from the importance of the job, the clarity of expectations, the opportunity for learning and career improvement, the provision of regular feedback, and the enjoyable working relationships with colleagues and managers. If employees are engaged, they feel indebted to the company and are more than willing to provide discretionary effort for the organisation.

FOCUSING ON INSPIRATION Inspiration is the fuel of achievement. The dynamics and sources of inspiration must be known and understood so that people can consciously manage it. Inspiration affects our work capacity, moods, relationships and wellness. Caring, coaching, non-financial rewards and information are key contributors to inspiration. Nominating an employee for a monthly or annual award ensures recognition and keeps him or her inspired. Naming a project after the project leader ensures accountability and gives widespread recognition. A note from the CEO, a birthday card, verbal reinforcement from managers and a mention at a company meeting are powerful ways to support desired behaviours. Financial reward is not the only form of incentive that can be applied with great results. Reinforcement and recognition strategies are often far more powerful than monetary rewards. People must be provided with the information they need to do their work and assess their position in the company and in the employment market. Information on the performance of the company and its new ventures creates excitement and facilitates buy-in. Regular feedback and staff consultation meetings are hallmarks of great companies. When people feel isolated and out of touch, they disconnect from the company, engagement levels decrease and discretionary effort recedes. Two-way communication, not just one-way broadcasts, is also essential. Trust is built when employees feel that their suggestions and insights are valued, and when they know where the organisation is heading.

BUILD VITAL INNER CIRCLES Employees must be informed of the value of inner circles as sources of wisdom, learning, inspiration and moral and financial support. An understanding of value-adding interpersonal relationships enhances the person’s potential for achieving success.

Chapter 4: Best practice for talent management

25

PROACTIVELY ADDRESS RETENTION ISSUES The manager-employee relationship is at the crux of retention. Each employee has different needs, motivations and requirements. Managers retain one employee at a time. Retention is monitored constantly and needs to be addressed proactively, not only after a resignation. Great employees leave first because their options are plentiful and diverse, and, typically, a company has one chance to address the gap between passive discomfort and active disengagement.

6. Talent coaching 1. Personal mastery

TALENT COACHING

2. Philosophy of life as a journey 3. Circuits of personal success

Deliberate talent coaching ensures that new employees who start their careers are acquainted with the realities of organisational cultures, the competitiveness of people and institutions, and the contests they will be exposed to in life. New employees, especially new interns, must realise at the outset that mastering a craft or profession is the only way to ensure sustained, meaningful employment and progression, and that competence and mastery come with time, experience and exposure. They must be coached in the processes that build mastery and in the behaviours and skills that ensure successes and obviate failures. The divide between institutionalised academic learning and workplace experiential learning is wide in respect of specialist knowledge application – special coaching is needed to build confidence and process skills for execution and delivery. The need to train leaders as coaches is thus critical.

26

Talent Management

PART TWO TALENT CREATION

The deliberate practice of creating talent for the future THE NURSERIES OF TALENT

CHAPTER FIVE THE NURSERIES OF TALENT When you start out on the journey you think it’s all about taking in experiences to fulfill yourself. But it’s not. The greatest experience is changing someone else’s experience of life. And once you come to that realization, it becomes your foundation, the ace in your pocket, who you are. When you see the world through the lens of others, that’s when you find yourself. Andre Agassi I shall pass through this life but once Any good, therefore, that I can do Or any kindness I can show to my fellow creature, let me do it now, Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. Etienne De Grellet

Great achievers bring their talent to fruition while they are employed. The string of examples is endless: Henry Ford, who founded the automobile industry in America, took a job as night engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company at the age of twenty-eight to learn about electricity, which he needed to use in his planned petrol engine. Marie Curie made all her discoveries while working as an academic. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs established companies and then learnt the business of software development and building computers. They then created opportunities for thousands of people to discover their passion and cultivate their intelligences and potencies while being employed. But these great achievers also had their thoughts, feelings and intelligence influenced by parents, teachers, professors, family members, pastors and priests. There are several spheres in which talent is created and, ideally, these should collectively form a virtuous cycle for talent creation.

THE SPHERES OF TALENT CREATION There are four spheres in which talent is created and nurtured. The process of creating and nurturing talent is similar to that of making fighting spears used by warriors, and then putting them into battle. The iron ore must be mined by a miner (1), then melted into steel and cast in moulds by a steel monger (2), after which the casting is forged, formed and sharpened by a craftsman (3), and, finally, the spear is sharpened and used by a fighter (4). Talent is the fighter’s spear. Families produce the ore (the original source of talent), schools turn the ore into steel castings and colleges and universities craft the steel castings into spears. Finally, employers sharpen and polish the spears and put them to use in battle. During every stage of the talent formation process, there is a unique pattern of nurturing.

The family Parents nurture the children in their midst by providing a label of identity at birth, supplying food, clothing and protection, then acknowledging, acceding to or tempering the evolving natural desires of the child, thus moulding an identity that can be nurtured further through education. The family is the genesis of potency, skill and virtue intelligences. It is the first arena in which the 28

Talent Management

child has to compete – the child competes with brothers and sisters for the attention of the parents, for home-made delicacies, the best toys, and an own domain. The virtues of caring, chastity, humility, generosity, temperance, resolution, diligence, obedience, cleanliness, honesty and frugality are learnt in the home. The basic skills of learning, appraisal, selection, adding, lettering and numbering are learnt in the home and at school. Any malfunction in this process harms the quality of the material which will eventually make up the fighting spear.

The school Schools provide the child with insight into the structure and dynamics of the environment. The teachers continue the process of instilling and purifying virtue intelligences and basic skills through learning, reading, writing, association and counting tasks, and competition. The transfer of those virtues and skills, if effectively managed, empowers the adolescent to take another step up the ladder of personal mastery. The school is the second arena in which the child learns to compete with his or her skill intelligences, and where the seed of potency germinates. The seed of truest interest is planted in this arena. Virtue intelligences like fairness, humility and generosity are enhanced when building harmonious interpersonal relationships and working with or against competitors. The child appraises his or her abilities and knows where he or she stands in the hierarchy of potency. The child learns to visualise, program and realise dreams. Any malfunction in this process harms the quality of the material earmarked for the fighting spear. The school is a sphere that takes the first shot at calibrating talent and instilling the skills learning, virtues and wellness habits of the child.

Craft colleges (further education and training institutions) and universities Craft colleges and universities accept the registrations of learners when the basic skills and virtues are in place and then teach them the ethics, principles and practices of a craft or profession. This knowledge enables the student to apply for and qualify for employment. The college or university is the third arena in which the individual encounters competition. Here, competition from the elite is intense and smart. Skill and virtue intelligences are tested to the limit and forged. Potency is constantly tested and under scrutiny, causing students to either settle into a state of innate equilibrium and self-acceptance, or to become information-devouring, passionate achievers. Potency has now become more important than ever before, because life’s opportunities for rewards are up for grabs and prime potency attracts the top dollars. A clear matrix of potency is established. Any malfunction in this process harms the quality of the material to be used for the spear.

The employer Finally, the employer scouts for people to employ as workers who provide a professional service or make a product of value to a client. The employer needs potent fighters with spears that can be sharpened and polished. The employer coaches the worker in the services to be provided to clients and in the processes that create value for both the client and the employer. Any malfunction in this process lowers the quality of the spear. Without coaching, there can be no value chain and no client satisfaction.

Chapter 5: The nurseries of talent

29

As the employer competes in the final arena of contest where success matters in a competitive world, the employer has the responsibility of quality assurance. The employer must monitor each step of the process of nurturing, from the family to college or university. He should monitor the quality of a) the family nurturing, b) the school’s nurturing, c) the nurturing received at college or university, and d) workplace coaching – the final stage in the nurturing process. No employer can afford to be apathetic about any of the nurturing processes, as the quality of the fighters and their spears will determine the outcome of the international, economic and social battles. In 1928, Henry Ford set up a vocational school called “Wayside Inn” for underprivileged boys between the ages of twelve and seventeen (in the ninth through twelfth grades). The purpose of their education was to teach them to work with their hands and to think. They were trained in agriculture, electrical and automotive engineering, plumbing, carpentry and other vocations, as well as academic subjects. As part of their education, students were forbidden from eating sweets, cakes, pies, puddings and other desserts to ensure that they remained as healthy as possible, and optimally able to learn. When employers are known for a culture of talent management, when their respect for talent is a vital selection criterion and when their investment in talent nurturing creates abundance, it sends a great message down the nurturing chain. Employers who offer the best opportunities for talent development invariably top the ranks of employers of choice. The ultimate aim of the employer must be to generate an abundance of human capital with mastered talent. With an abundance of human capital with evolved talent, the price of talent drops and the employer can afford to employ more employees, and also reduce operating costs. Human capital costs are the prime input costs for most employers. It thus makes sense to create abundance and to enhance competitiveness through pervasiveness and efficiencies. Wal-Mart became a global organisation by creating an abundance of talent, thus reducing its operating costs. With an abundance of potent talent, the choice also expands and employers can select the super elite from the elite. By creating abundance, more buyers are generated, thus causing a virtuous investment loop. Talent scouting can start in the early phases of the nurturing chain in order to create abundance. By awarding bursaries and student loans to young people with early potency, potential early movers and shakers can be identified and exposed to growth experiences, thus generating abundance. Virtue intelligences are vital in the competitive world of business. Because of the resolute deliberateness of competition and the demanding and unforgiving nature of the markets and industries, there are immeasurable numbers of opportunities to counter virtuous behaviour – examples are injustice, greed and dishonesty. When employers focus on virtue intelligences as a vital selection criterion, it sends a clear message down the nurturing chain. This message brings into sharp focus how to enhance virtue intelligences in the family, school, college and university. When employers use referral recruitment, they reduce the risk of investing in people with the wrong calibration for the organisation or industry. Virtue intelligences of the highest order are usually identified through referrals. The downside of referral recruitment is the risk of nepotism. Employers who invest in internships, career exhibitions, bursaries, student loans and accelerated development, and who are prominent in the skills development market, do a great service to the community. They not only make other employers aware of the importance of talent nurturing, but also set standards for virtuous corporate behaviour. 30

Talent Management

A key talent-creating instrument in the hands of the employer is the task team. Task teams expose people to the strategic issues in an organisation, the behaviour and attitudes of members, the behaviour of intended beneficiaries, the interpersonal dynamics and growth of the team, team leadership, competence leadership and the role of proficiency. The task team is a microcosm of an organisation operating under the discipline of a mission and compressed timetable, and it reveals all the blunders and inconsistencies of poor leadership.

Chapter 5: The nurseries of talent

31

PART THREE TALENT CALIBRATION

The deliberate practice of measuring talent POTENCY TRUEST INTEREST THE ALPHA SKILL INTELLIGENCES THE VIRTUE INTELLIGENCES

CHAPTER SIX POTENCY The crowning fortune of man is to be born to some pursuit which finds him in employment and happiness, whether it be to make baskets, or broadswords, or canals, or statues, or song. The world is no longer clay, but rather iron in the hands of its workers, and men have got to hammer out a place for themselves by steady and rugged blows. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882) In the hands of the inexperienced, resumés are dangerous weapons. Eventually, I learnt that I was looking for people who were filled with passion and a desire to get things done. A resumé didn’t tell me much about that inner hunger. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric (JACK – Jack Welch and John Byrne, Headline Publisher)

Potency is a person’s real achievement leverage and power. It is one’s measurable, true capacity to achieve desired results, to make things happen and to effect thought, emotion, feeling and action amongst people. This power is not ego-oriented, but task-oriented. The success of highly potent people is measured in terms of achieving predetermined objectives and targets. Honesty and realism are virtues of highly potent people. Ego-driven people live in fear of failure and are driven by fear avoidance – they are not potent. Real potency is the single most important driving force of any virtuous social pursuit (like small-enterprise development, economic growth or international competitiveness). It is a complex force created by the interaction between (and integration and exercise of) one’s truest interest and best-developed alpha skill intelligences and virtue intelligences (discussed further on). When I read the contribution of Wendy Lucas-Bull, former FNB Retail CEO, on the leadership lessons of Nelson Mandela, I thought she captured this phenomenon well when she wrote: “Though I initially found it difficult to find exactly the right word to describe Madiba’s powerful, charismatic and dignified presence, I believe that the Sotho word sereti says it all. The size of Madiba’s sereti, or image, shadow, spiritual presence, bears testimony to the charisma that emanates from deep within this man, a man who instinctively uses this immense personal power to influence others to aspire to goodness” (Financial Mail, Special Souvenir Edition, 24 December 2004: 22). Potency is strengthened by an individual’s resolve to realise the dreams, objectives and targets inspired by desire and truest interest. Potency is commonly called character, caliber, potential, ambition, ruthlessness, alphaness, passion or drive. Potency is accentuated by a person’s stature, status, wealth, voice, presence, aura of confidence, inner energy, sexuality, magnetism, charisma, will, personal authority, power, commitment, perseverance and unique physical attributes. Even a person’s piercing blue eyes, unique voice or physical size, when it influences another person’s attitude or behaviour, contribute to potency. When one watches an actor like Tom Cruise (several times Forbes Magazine’s leading celebrity and rated the most successful film star of his generation) in a spontaneous role like participating in a talk show, his profound innate ability to stir and excite people becomes patently clear. He instils positive excitement and a feeling of wellness in his interviews. Talk-show host, Oprah Winfrey, the top-earning female entertainer in 2006 with earnings of $225 million (according to Forbes Magazine), inspires millions of people in many countries with her talk shows, and also with her concern for poor children and investment in schools. Potency is strengthened through achievements, fame and adversity, or weakened through life experiences, such as accidents and illness.

34

Talent Management

In South Africa, we have several sports and entertainment stars who stir up emotion and attract spectators and audiences with their performances. Examples of current South African celebrities with high potency are Brian Habana and Steve Hofmeyr. Both of them have the ability to draw crowds and arouse excitement, but for different reasons. Brian Habana’s explosive acceleration, speed and try-scoring prowess have made him a hero of local rugby fans and a feared rival in competition. Steve Hofmeyr stirs fans with songs, statements and behaviours that reinforce the group identity of Afrikaners. We also have several business people, scientists and politicians who stir up emotion and contribute positively to the success of the state. An extract from the biography of Charles Dickens further illustrates the potency concept. “He had the type of mind that wishes to do every kind of work at once; to do everybody’s work as well as its own... .He thought of the thing as a kind of vast multiplication of himself, with Dickens as editor opening letters, Dickens as leader-writer writing leaders, Dickens as reviewer reviewing books, Dickens, for all I know, as office-boy opening and shutting doors” Picture of Dickens by Mr. Chesterton (Darwin, 1946: 58). “Naturally all doors opened to the young hero, and Dickens had, in a much abused phrase, a genius for friendship. In the first few years of his success, he gathered round him a pleasant circle of friends, most of them men of considerable attainments... .Dickens’s friendliness towards his fellow-men, his delight and thoroughness in organising amusements, his intense interest in anything new to him would always have made him come out strong” (Darwin, 1946: 63).

THE EMERGENCE OF POTENCY Potency emerges and appears early in a person’s life – like a blossom that ultimately turns into a fruit. The brightest, most artistic or most competitive and best athletes in a school, class or family come to the fore at an early age, when given the opportunity. The potency of these achievers is based on their test marks, merit awards, victories and the respect or adoration of classmates and teachers. Children know which boy or girl in the class is clever, artistic, athletic or attractive to the opposite sex, and they know who has the respect of the teachers. They experience and also learn this from the school grapevine. When children become teenagers and students, they explore and demonstrate their truest interest and competitive intelligences and get accepted and hailed for these attributes by friends and fellow students. According to Iain Johnstone, a biographer of the life of celebrity film star, Tom Cruise, Tom had already revealed a competitive streak by the age of thirteen, when he challenged his much older neighbour to a game of tennis, and, when he lost, he challenged the man again (Johnstone, 2006: 59).

Potency and group influence One cannot discuss and identify potency in the various arenas of employment without drawing from the phenomenon of alphaness in the animal world, as observed and documented by scientists and writers. According to Ardrey, the labels “alpha male” and “alpha female” had their origin in sciences like primatology and anthropology and they indicate the first in an order – the dominant male or female in a group of animals. “Omega” refers to the lowest position in such a group, while people with high potency are referred to as alphas.

Chapter 6: Potency

35

Studies in the animal world have revealed that alpha males and alpha females acquire dominance in groups in a variety of ways and that they assume definite obligations (Ardrey, 1970: 132). Animal alphas typically display powerful charisma and caring capacity, which attracts a following response from the majority of members of any group. Sometimes, they command the attention of entire groups. They display a magnetism that keeps a group together and accomplish it as a normal event which would otherwise be a miracle. A strong feature of alphas is their intellectual ability to identify and recognise the individuality of a greater number of people. Effective communication in a group is determined by the limits of individual identification. Alphas exercise their responsibilities only as far as they can identify their subordinates. Alphas assume definite obligations for the privileges and order in a group. They command loyalty for an unlimited period – usually until death. Communication in the group ceases to be effective at the line of individual identification (Ardrey, 1970: 133). The term “alpha” even found its way into obituaries. Campbell, an author of political obituaries, frequently uses the term “alpha”. “It is a description that apparently denotes physical prowess, high achievement, bullying and sexual attraction. It is not an entirely flattering term, calling to mind the aggressive chest-beating of a silverback gorilla, but perfectly describes someone who bends others to his will” (The Guardian, 22 September 2003).

Potency and learning People with high potency take less time to learn and to adopt new practices – the attention structure of “alphas” is such that all threatening and innovative signals are immediately picked up and responded to. When innovation and high potency coincide, there is a spectacular spread of social learning. Alphas are strong at transferring learning, as they make their individual, superior capacity available to all.

Potency and appeal People with high potency are typically sexually attractive and have a distinctive appearance. They accentuate this attractiveness and distinction through their charisma and the clothes and jewellery that they wear. The soccer player and former England national team captain, David Beckham, has on many occasions been labelled an alpha male because of his influence on the field, distinct hairstyle, earrings, tattoos, involvement with children’s soccer and popularity amongst soccer fans – both male and female. Margaret Thatcher, a former British prime minister, was described as an alpha female (see below). Male pseudo-alphas use status symbols like expensive watches, earrings, gold chains, expensive sports cars and motorcycles, and collections of these, to create the impression of success and achievement, thus enhancing their social appeal. Female pseudoalphas use expensive jewellery, exotic hairstyles, and bright or revealing clothes to enhance their social appeal.

Potency and group protection People with high potency defend the groups they belong to and are aroused by external threats to the group. High alphas have great value for omegas in terms of protection and the transfer of learning. High alphas command space around themselves. They break up quarrels and keep young ones out of the inner circle. High alphas have an obligation to maintain order in the group and will invariably come to the defence of the weak. They function as sentinels and guards, causing 36

Talent Management

diversions when the group is under attack – they don’t run the risk of personal injury, because that will threaten their alpha status. High alphas are responsible for meting out justice in the group.

Potency and relationships People with high potency stay aloof and indifferent from the excitement of individuals in the group and have an aristocratic air about themselves. High alphas select their team members one by one. Intruders in a group will always be attacked, and the attacks will be led by the betas of similar status and age in the group. High alphas stay aloof from these fights. They succeed because instinct allows no real choice, in part because intelligence is unclouded by false instruction. Hierarchy reduces fighting – once the order of dominance is established, serious aggression becomes rare, since each member knows too well his own capacities in relation to the next person’s. High alphas can cooperate on an equal footing, but they cannot accommodate each other in superordinate or subordinate relationships.

MANIFESTATION OF MALE AND FEMALE POTENCY The drive for self-fulfilment amongst males and females manifests itself differently within a society. Males and females thus experience the potency of other males and females in different ways. Because males are in competition for self-fulfilment with other males and females, and females in turn are in competition for self-fulfilment with males and other females, their experiences of one another vary greatly. In traditional communities and societies, high alpha males and females have always had unique, but different, roles and characteristics. The high rate of migration of the female into the workplace and into positions of institutional leadership in post-traditional societies altered the traditional paradigms of the role of the male and the female in society. The role and characteristics of especially the female alpha took on new dimensions. The role and characteristics of the alpha male also changed. Controversy, cynicism, skepticism and criticism aimed at the female CEO, working mother and female employee, and the impact on family discipline and integrity, appeared with the changing role of the female. A similar, negative reaction to a particular type of male institutional leader also appeared recently in reaction to traditional male attitudes and the financial meltdown of a number of global corporations. As the shift is evolutionary, one may as well make peace with the situation and accept the changing alpha male and female roles that are manifesting themselves in societies.

Female potency Female potency is an acknowledged phenomenon and topic of some controversy. There seems to be a tendency amongst women to view strong potency amongst themselves in both a positive and negative light. Strong, ambitious females are sometimes discounted, referred to in a derogatory manner and branded “manipulators”, and sometimes they are lauded for their contributions to strong families, communities and societies. Chapter 6: Potency

37

The following opinions on alpha females were found on the Internet (The Guardian, 22 September 2003): •

Alexandra Shulman, editor of Vogue, wrote in a column that an alpha female would never get lost on the North Circular, and would look good in a miniskirt. She enquired whether the alpha female was like Shirley Conran's Superwoman – all things to all people – or whether the alpha female is someone we like or admire, or whether she even exists. She continues: “If we base alpha female on the male model, we will find her in the boardroom, impersonating his bullying and overriding ambition. Sexuality plays a big part in alpha males’ success, and alpha female Margaret Thatcher was a tremendous flirt, who spent a lot of effort on her appearance. Anna Wintour, editor of US Vogue, is a classic example of alpha female, driven by insecurity and ruling by fear. She is aloof, inscrutable behind those dark glasses (likely the personality portrayed in The Devil Wears Prada). There are very few alpha females of this order, since most women have had the alpha-male qualities conditioned out of them and have been steered towards nurturing roles rather than world domination.”

•

"Alpha female is pretty exceptional," says columnist Polly Toynbee. "There are not a whole lot of people trying to be like her, whereas there are a lot of men behaving in the same way, clambering over each other to reach the top of the tree. Those women who do get to the top are mavericks, hybrids and deny that they are like other women. Women do not like alpha female very much, nor do they want to be like her. Women want to be liked, which holds them back. Mrs. Thatcher refused to have anything to do with the sisters. She always said: 'Don't ask me about being a woman.’ Hers was the only cabinet with no other women in it."

•

Sarah Dunant, author of The Birth of Venus, sees the alpha female as inhuman rather than superhuman. Employees generally order the alpha female’s life, while she focuses on achievements and looking good. According to her, the alpha female depends on such a sense of innate superiority that she's probably not aware of her status. While she is normally effortlessly talented and capable, she would need a reduced capacity for empathy, because, otherwise, it would derail her.

•

To quote historian, Professor Joanna Bourke: “I think there is a difference between alpha female and alpha male. The women I would nominate as alpha females have changed the world by their philosophy and writings, and they have made an impact by the way they live, or lived, their lives: Simone de Beauvoir, Virginia Woolf and Germaine Greer. In their sexual identity, in the way they constructed their domestic lives, they strove to be true to themselves. If they were confrontational it was not for its own sake, but to say: ‘This is what I am.’ They acknowledge their own complexities. Alpha males do not go down that route.”

•

Elephants present a good model of the alpha female. Elephant society is a matriarchy, led by the biggest, strongest female (perceived as wise and kind) who keeps the group together. This model of the alpha female has different qualities from the male; she shares his leadership and strength, but also promotes a sense of community. She is a woman of substance who combines physical potency with seriousness of purpose. According to the elephantine model, motherhood is essential to the alpha female's humanity: She is mature and connected. Even so, she is not hampered or compromised by motherhood in any way.

•

“The alpha female is a woman who is strong, confident, bold and assertive in her everyday life and dealings with people in general – and wants a dominant man in her life because she finds it sexually exciting to be dominated by a strong, powerful man. She might or might not be in a position of authority at work; but she has a personality and a level of competence

38

Talent Management

such that she could be in such a position and command respect” (Posted on the Internet by Lap of the Goddess on 10 November 2004). The unique character and behaviour displayed by females in their competition for self-fulfilment in a chosen line of expression define the prevailing form of female potency. Potency is dynamic. It evolves from successful role models and in accordance with the challenges and opportunities presented by societies. Men usually don’t have an issue with potent females. In their view, the qualities of the potent female and potent male are quite different. Men respect females with strong potency, as the strong female persona embodies the best female qualities. My personal opinion is that female alphaness is a reality and a present-day phenomenon. Such behaviour is diverse and situational, depending on where the action takes place. In the workplace, the alpha female establishes and asserts herself as a competitive worker. In the home, the alpha female takes responsibility for the schooling, morality and nourishment of the family. Female potency is nature’s way of ensuring the emotional refinement and robustness of the human species. Female alphas are versatile in their relationships with alpha males and other alpha females. Female alphas possess a unique consciousness when competing with men for fulfilment, territory and dominance. This consciousness informs them of the type of man or men they are dealing with and whether to apply higher- or lower-order intelligences and capacities. Alpha female behaviour differs significantly from beta and omega female behaviour in terms of mental, physical and spiritual bias. High alpha females know intuitively which weapons to deploy in order to succeed. This can range from harsh intellectualism to spiritual sensitivity and caring, from physical and sexual aloofness to aggression. When high alpha females compete with high alpha males in the workplace, they deploy higher-order capacities like abstract reasoning, psychic power and creativity. When they compete with beta and omega males, they apply their lower-order competitive abilities like athleticism, physical attractiveness and sexuality. When they compete with rival alpha females, they ban them from their domain or eliminate them through popularity and hierarchy. When they compete with beta and omega females, they intuitively deploy situational strategies that ensure dominance and survival. High alpha females are not immune to personal failure, but will always find a way to redeem, restart or reposition themselves. Females with high potency drive artistic refinement, austerity and pragmatism in the home, in families, institutions, communities and society. It is an evolving influence which should ideally be characterised by • concern for the total wellness of society, for survival and related critical responsibilities • selective mating, making sure that the quality of the species enhances • intuitive spiritual, preservative, nurturing, motherly, caring, maternal, honest, sensual, sensitive, compassionate and kind behaviour • responsible aggression in support of alpha men, progeny and for upholding conservative values • a strong pursuit of a balanced family lifestyle aimed at sustainability and harmony, dividing and balancing attention between personal, family and work priorities • being strong willed, achievement-focused, dedicated, resilient, challenging, inspirational and resourceful, determined and positive • the ability to inspire individuals, families and groups in learning, order, peace and work efficiency. Chapter 6: Potency

39

Male potency High male potency drives the social structure, competition, achievement and progress in many societies. It is also an evolving influence, as it is being challenged by high female potency in the marketplace. High male potency was traditionally seen as nature’s way of ensuring the physical robustness and survival of the human species. It therefore makes sense to view and describe it in a positive light. Male alphas who have navigated the full cycle of political revolution from activist to president, or from founding entrepreneur to global industry leader, or that of empowerment from research to innovation, or that of entertainment from artist to icon, display a unique type of behaviour. They typically create optimal conditions, structures and processes for the future survival, safety and excellence of their group, institution or society. They exert a positive and compassionate influence on affiliates. Unfortunately, the negative male leadership behaviour in the corporate and political worlds has lately been classified as “alpha male behaviour”. Greed, in particular, has been linked to alpha male behaviour. Ignorance of the critical importance of potency to survival has become a big threat to civilisation. The following paragraphs, selected from a flood of criticism of recent male behaviour in the corporate world, reflect current thinking and writing on male alphas (Article by David Grainger on primatologist, Robert Sapolsky, in Fortune, 11 August 2003). 1. Male alphas who get to the top and stay there are "great at forming coalitions and being psychologically manipulating and physically intimidating, as well as using bluffs and suggestions of violence instead of actually getting into fights”. 2. The alpha male clings to old-fashioned hierarchies and is driven by insecurity and fear. He is aware that there are many similar males climbing the ladder behind him. Students of modern workplace culture reason that male alphas may soon become redundant. The charismatic chief executive has, it seems, become a thing of the past. The sight of last year's Wall Street CEOs and over-promoted, hyper-ambitious dealers being dragged before the courts reinforces this view. A new generation of leaders is apparently in the offing. They are “consensus-builders, who don't lead from the front but push their teams forward, using traditional female skills such as listening”, something which the alpha male does not do. Alpha males are not immune to personal failure, but will always find a way to redeem or reinvent themselves. Wartime prime minister, Winston Churchill, once said: “Success means moving from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” There were and are many great achievers on the top rungs of the potency ladder. They persistently attract positive publicity, whilst making a great impact on the lives of others. High male potency is an evolving phenomenon that should ideally be characterised by • intuitive foresight – guiding societies, communities, families and institutions towards a secure future • the construction of structures, conditions and processes that empower and protect people • harsh competition for status, assets and perseverance in pursuit of victory • aggressive protection of alpha females, progeny and conservative values 40

Talent Management

• strong-willed, achievement-focused, resilient, challenging, resourceful, determined and positive, protective, fatherly, compassionate and kind interpersonal behaviour • the ability to influence individuals and groups as to the best way forward • being proud of personal prowess and a track record of accomplishments.

Measuring potency One must accept that males and females with varying levels of potency are present and performing in institutions, communities and societies. This basic fact makes it important to have some form of potency measurement. The intensity of desire and drive for self-fulfilment manifests itself in a continuum, from high to low potency. We need a structure and process that allow us to rate, respect and nurture high potency with a view to establishing new rules for survival. SCALE OF POTENCY

Indicator

High Potency

Moderate Potency

Low Potency

Confidence

Confident, strong selfknowledge and high inner selfworth Finds lasting, passionate expression of full suite of individual alpha skills, whilst supporting others with the same Consistent personal ethical and virtuous behaviour. Active promotion of ethical and virtuous behaviour with no need for status symbols Dedicated to a programme of physical wellness management, with no drug or stimulant dependencies Dedicated to a programme of mental wellness management, with no drug or stimulant dependencies Leadership of associations and fellowships that enhance professional potency and relations Active participation in divine worshipping, conservation of nature and high morality. Reaches out to people with expressions and acts of kindness and compassion Initiates and drives large-scale business, enterprise and capacity-building interventions that benefit many people

Moderate confidence, sound self-knowledge and uncertain inner self-worth Deliberate expression of one or two alpha skills, with little concern for the talent of others

Uncertain, poor self-knowledge and low inner self-worth

Consistent personal ethical and virtuous behaviour, with no need for status symbols

Lapses in personal ethical and virtuous behaviour, with a need for status symbols

Fluctuating concern for physical wellness, with some drug or stimulant dependencies

No concern for physical wellness, with strong drug or stimulant dependencies

Fluctuating concern for mental wellness, with some drug or stimulant dependencies

No concern for mental wellness, with strong drug or stimulant dependencies

Active membership of fellowships and associations that enhance professional potency and relations Occasional participation in divine worshipping, natureloving excursions and protection of high morality. Spirited egoism, with no concern for others

No specific action to enhance professional potency and relations

Initiates and drives small business enterprise and capacity-building interventions that benefit some people

Participates in business, enterprise and capacity-building interventions that benefit some people

Skills expression

Virtue expression

Physical wellness

Mental wellness

Relationship wellness

Spiritual wellness

Personal leverage

Chapter 6: Potency

Feeble expression of alpha skills and no concern for the talent of others

No participation in divine worshipping or nature-loving excursions, no conservation of nature and no high morality. No enthusiasm

41

CHAPTER SEVEN TRUEST INTEREST Insist on yourself; never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life's cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another you have only an extemporaneous half possession... Do that which is assigned to you, and you cannot hope too much or dare too much. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882)

Truest interest is a person’s deep-seated, unwavering love for the expression of a personal mastery that arouses emotion amongst people and creates exchangeable value for the individual. A person who changed her career from being a successful chartered accountant to a photographer recently said to me: “I was looking for something that would ‘ring the bell in me’ and I found it in the pictures I took of people.” Manifestations of the expression of truest interest and personal mastery are found in painting, sculpting, writing, motor racing, soccer, athletics, leadership, scientific innovation, engineering, architecture, etc. The successful expression of truest interest results in peak emotional experiences, wellness and exchangeable value for the individual throughout his or her life, inspiring and driving him or her to sustain a broadening stream of achievements with rising stature and impact. Truest interest finds expression in four working areas and combinations thereof, viz.: 1. Working with people – entertainment, leadership, management, education, counselling, sport 2. Working with things – building, technical maintenance, electronics, engines, systems, processes 3. Working with information – financial reports, news editing and reporting, court cases, crime investigation, writing 4. Working with knowledge – scientific research, process design, experimentation. A person’s truest interest has its seed in some profound insights and experiences that made a lasting impact on the world view of the person during his or her formative years as a child and adolescent. A truest interest in sport may have been instilled by attending a match or event that aroused huge excitement, or perhaps by a gift from a respected and much-loved person. A truest interest in politics, teaching, law or medicine may have had its origin in the profession of a parent or respected family member or friend. Michael Schumacher’s love of motor racing ignited when, as a youngster, he worked in his parents’ go-carting business. Michelangelo’s love of painting and sculpting ignited when, at thirteen, he was apprenticed to a craft school and studied with the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, after which the Medici family commissioned him to do work for them. Henry Ford ignited his truest interest in automotive transport and the petrol engine when, as a youngster, he worked for Edison in his laboratories. The truest interest of the golfers, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els, was ignited at a very early age by their father and grandfather respectively. Great competitors like André Agassi and Steffi Graf found that their passion for the game of tennis was ignited by their fathers. We should sound a word of warning though: Danger sometimes lurks in any passion that is instilled by a parent, as it could be that parent’s unfulfilled truest interest. When this interest is transferred onto the child, inner conflict arises in the recipient, which could culminate in frustration and inner conflict during adulthood. When the parent has the ability to spot the evolving and naturally strong intelligences of the child and helps the child to nurture 42

Talent Management

these, there will be no problem in later life. Lance Armstrong’s mother thought her son had the potential to become a great swimmer and inspired him to cycle a long way to swimming practice every week. Cycling became an emotional and physical part of his life and wellbeing and he then entered the world of competitive cycling. Anna Maria Brizio, an author who worked on one of the books about the life of Leonardo da Vinci – the renowned artist, scientist and inventor who lived from 1452 to 1519 – pointed out: “The underlying unity in Leonardo’s diverse endeavors is the respect for nature, the desire to learn her secrets and her laws” (Brizio, 1980: 124). The ever-popular Charles Dickens is considered one of the greatest authors and playwrights of the 19th century. As the author of classics such as Oliver Twist, Hard Times, Bleak House, David Copperfield, Tale of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol, Little Dorrit and Great Expectations he is revered for exposing human rights abuses in the work culture in England at the time. The stories of his life describe the situations that ignited his truest interest. “His love of reading started young, and a friend, James Lamert, warmed his love for theatre. Charles’s own talents lay not in a tragic but comic direction. He used to sing comic songs as a child, much to the great delight of his father. The boy was more likely to be precocious in the things of the mind because he had but a poor, weak little body, subject to sudden and mysterious spasms of fear. His precocious powers were not dulled, but rather quickened by his sufferings as a child” (Darwin, 1946: 24). Charles Dickens described himself in David Copperfield, which is considered to be his life story at about the age of ten, as “a child of excellent abilities and with strong powers of observation, quick, eager, delicate and soon hurt bodily and mentally” (Darwin, 1946). “The ‘very queer little boy” who had dreamed of buying Gads Hill (a status residence) had also dreamed of writing books; of being a famous man: he was an intensely ambitious boy, and thwarted ambition makes for bitter resentment” (Darwin, 1946). “He was determined to rise, so he began to cast about for new ways and means. It may be that he was already thinking of the theatre, for he and a fellow clerk called Potter went constantly to the play and, according to Mr. Blackmore, sometimes played small parts at a minor theatre. He decided on something more practical – to learn to be a shorthand writer. He ‘tamed that savage stenographic mystery’ and became to be unequalled in the mastery of it. Mr. Thomas Beard, his earliest friend in the gallery, was never tired of saying that ‘there never was such a shorthand writer’” (Darwin, 1946). A person’s truest interest assumes and commands control of the subconscious brain and works like a homing or detecting device that continually sends signals to the conscious mind as to which personal mastery expression opportunities to capture and cultivate, and which to ignore. The peak experience of personal emotional fulfilment and the arousal and feedback from an inner circle provide the directing and inspiring signals. Many people go through life without ever knowing their truest interest, merely because of a lack of early life stimulation, caring influence and coaching. Others are unable to discover and label their single truest interest because of a broad-based pursuit of interests, or owing to the boundaries and challenges of a family, job or relationship. Most people only evolve to profound self-insight as regards their truest interest with the help of a parent, close and trusted friend, coach or therapist. It also only happens when there is a true desire and potency to achieve some form of significance.

Chapter 7: Truest interest

43

To establish your truest interest, you need to survey your pursuits and the contests you are likely to meet in your career and establish which vision and skills expression continue to ignite the most personal gratification and continue to arouse the interest of the people you know intimately. This interest must result in exchangeable value for the owner and other people. People in your inner circle invariably sense the essence of your truest interest, skills and virtues and can help you on your path to personal mastery based on what they see coming to you easily and naturally, both technically and emotionally. It makes good sense to validate your truest interest from time to time. All you need is a short questioning rhythm. By answering a set of questions, you will soon know whether or not you are still on track (see Addendum). One day I said to God -I'm going to search For the meaning to my existence I'm going to find the talent within me Then develop it to the best of my ability And I'm going to make the most of this life That I have been given And I'm going to do this Without infringing upon anyone else's Opportunity to do the same And God replied 'I couldn't ask for anything more' Benjamin Franklin (1790)

44

Talent Management

CHAPTER EIGHT THE ALPHA SKILL INTELLIGENCES Shun no toil to make yourself remarkable by some talent or other; yet do not devote yourself to one branch exclusively. Strive to get clear notions about all. Give up no science entirely; for science is but one. Seneca (3 BC – 65 AD)

One can discern a person’s five skill intelligences by merely observing behaviour within the family, workplace or community. Skill intelligence is an observable and measurable learning and performance ability that is critical in the contest for survival and prosperity. The term “alpha skill intelligence” was selected to identify the natural abilities that humans (and, for that matter, all primates) possess and use to survive and dominate. The five alpha skill intelligences are embedded in the neural pathways of the mind and body, similar to the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. These intelligences are expressed in an infinite number of combinations. They empower individuals to survive and compete for selffulfilment in terms of identity, self-worth, wealth and emotional, physical and spiritual wellness in a great number of environments. The alpha skill intelligences are mutually exclusive competition powers with a natural affinity to combine and allow the individual to follow his or her truest interest, and to cater for his or her potency and needs. Alpha skill intelligences possess qualities of elasticity and flexibility. They vary in expression, influence and visibility from person to person. They surface, transform and disappear during a person’s life cycle according to their utilisation and the needs, wellness and age of the individual. These intelligences combine in many ways, and the resulting unique mixtures endow people with the flexibility to function in several talent expressions or jobs. Alpha skill intelligences have the following characteristics: They • are inborn and observable in an individual at a very young age • spontaneously attract the attention and respect of people • have the potential to satisfy the multiple needs of people • have a scarcity or novelty value when well developed • have the potential to create value and therefore to command a price in a particular market • respond to learning and are enhanced and benefited through the addition of knowledge and skills • typically find expression in roles, occupations, professions and careers • determine the competitive capacity of an individual • are multi-dimensional, multi-functional and measurable. Just as the alpha male or alpha female in a primate group exerts dominance through cunning, strength, speed, aggression, size and smell, so people position and differentiate themselves in groups on the basis of their potency, truest interest, alpha skill intelligences and virtue intelligences. Chapter 8: The alpha skill intelligences

45

Individuals who use their alpha skill intelligences effectively and efficiently when they compete for their survival, self-fulfilment and status, are respected in most societies. The five alpha skill intelligences develop through stimulation, education, training and experience and contribute to the survival and success of a person. They interact and blend harmoniously, and their strong synergy makes success possible. An individual expresses one or more dominant alpha skill intelligences at any point in time. The freedom, opportunity and support to express such dominant skill intelligences represent the essence of life for people in a developed society. We can distinguish the following alpha skill intelligences: • Abstract/analytical • Activating • Artistic/creative • Athletic • Awareness (sensing and surveillance). Every person owns, at any point in his or her lifetime, a particular alpha skill intelligence profile. This profile is a reflection of the person’s natural aptitude and state of cumulative experience and development at that moment (see example below). The person’s profile can be compared to the benchmark profile required by a position in an organisation and variances will reflect the extent to which the person will be likely to succeed in the position.

ALPHA SKILL INTELLIGENCE PROFILE AWARENESS SKILL 100

75 80 65 60

ATHLETIC SKILL

ABSTRACT/ ANALYTICAL SKILL

40 69 45

70 72

20 0

60 57

55 80

ARTISTIC/ CREATIVE SKILL Benchmark

ACTIVATING SKILL Candidate

Alpha skill intelligence comprises a distinct, subordinate set of attributes, each with its own form, function, power and developmental potential. An individual with well-developed athleticism (athletic skill intelligence) will display a unique capacity for speed, spring, stamina, strength, leverage and agility. Individuals with well-developed activism (activating skill intelligence) display charisma, compassion, enthusiasm and the capacity to inspire. 46

Talent Management

The developmental or stretch potential and ultimate competitive power of these attributes varies from person to person. Inspiration, motivation and action (experiential learning) are the means to change and enhance skill intelligence. .

A person’s potency (achievement power) derives from the optimal integration and synergy of one’s alpha skill intelligences with truest interest and virtue intelligences in those situations or campaigns that require competition with others. Achievement power provides cutting-edge competitiveness in the workplace and enables a person to distinguish, compete and assert himself or herself in competition and in self-actualising economic or social value-generating pursuits. The following are descriptions and discussions of our skill intelligences.

ABSTRACTING/ANALYTICAL SKILL INTELLIGENCE Abstracting/ aalytical skill intelligence is a person’s mental power, that is, the ability to conceive situations and to develop and evaluate solutions for problems through the abstraction, analysis, synthesis and interpretation of data, events, patterns and structures of behaviour. Abstracting/analytical skill intelligence is the innate reasoning and thinking capacity of an individual. It manifests itself in a person’s mental power to conceive, categorise, memorise and abstract, process and apply images, figures, numbers, symbols, concepts, schemes and structures. It also manifests itself in one’s power to design, develop and implement ideas, concepts and plans that have a competitive economic or emotive value. Abstracting/analytical skill intelligence combines with other skill intelligences (such as activating skill intelligence) in many varieties and the resultant unique compositions endow people with the flexibility to function in several expressions or jobs. #1 – Abstracting/Analytical Skill Intelligence Dominant Role Type

Analyst, Scientist, Researcher

ABSTRACT/ ANALYTICAL

AWARENESS

ATHLETIC

ACTIVATING

Abstracting-analytical skill is expressed in building models, framing plans, developing theory and formulas, classifying, ordering, measuring, seeing proportion, 3-D insight, symbolism, projection, working with numbers and figures, working with symbols, quantification, qualification, systemisation, building and designing structures and products, reading, writing, drawing, working with letters, concepts, formulas, patterns and dynamics.

ARTISTIC/ CREATIVE

Advice to coaches and tutors – the calibration of abstracting/ analytical skill intelligence An abstracting/analytical skill intelligence calibration programme needs to have an ideally accepted model for both the factors that influence abstracting-analytical performance and the identification of gifted people so that coaches and tutors can assist students, employees and interested persons. Chapter 8: The alpha skill intelligences

47

ACTIVATING SKILL INTELLIGENCE Activating skill intelligence is a person’s mental power to instil confidence, inspire enthusiasm and allegiance and induce personal ownership and competitive thinking, learning and behaviour in another person or group of persons. Activating skill intelligence is our innate capacity to communicate and influence the mood, emotions, feelings and behaviour of others. People with strong activating skill inspire enthusiasm, as well as emotional and spiritual allegiance and compliance. Their skill induces friendship, personal ownership, accountability and competitive thinking, learning and behaviour in other individuals or groups. It manifests itself in their way of speaking, acting or writing, aura, stature, body language and interpersonal sensitivity, kindness, compassion, energy and enthusiasm. Activating skill intelligence is powerful when well developed and is most visible and active when church, political and business leaders mesmerise and mobilise large groups through their speeches and writings. Activating skill intelligence is a sought-after, powerful influencing ability in competitive employment markets. It was so in the past and will remain so in the future. Societies and employers want and need people who inspire others and make things happen. Robin Williams said this of his actor friend, Christopher Reeve, famous for his role in Superman and renowned for his organisational skills and fundraising efforts after being paralysed: “The world has lost a tremendous activist and artist, and an inspiration world-wide. I have lost a great friend” (Nadine Rubin and Lori Cohen, ‘Once upon a Hero’, Marie Claire South Africa, April 2005). Phil Knight, founder (in 1962) of the world’s dominant athletic footwear company, Nike, described himself as an introvert with a unique ability to inspire people in a 2005 article in Fortune Magazine. When Nike experienced a serious lapse in performance in 1999, Phil Knight was brought from retirement to reinstate discipline and enthusiasm in the company. He gathered 1 500 employees on the baseball courts in the Nike building and reminded them of the Nike heritage. He explained that Nike had been down before, but had bounced back, and said it was time to “elevate their game”. One of the managers present at the speech said: “I’ll never forget the speech, he inspired you to such a level that you just knew you wanted to do more for him than you were doing before. #2 – Activating Skill Intelligence Dominant Role Type

Activist, Leader, Inspirational Speaker Activating skills manifest themselves in communication, leadership, influence, charisma, enterprise, moral authority, inspirational power and compassion.

ABSTRACT/ ANALYTICAL

AWARENESS

ATHLETIC

48

ACTIVATING

ARTISTIC/ CREATIVE

Talent Management

He challenged us all to really get focused. He’s the kind of leader – you can hear a pin drop when he speaks. He had the whole place giving him a standing ovation for quite a while when he finished” (Daniel Roth, ‘Can Nike Still Do It Without Phil Knight?’, Fortune Magazine, 11 April 2005: 43). Nike was ranked at 139 in 2007 on the basis of annual profits ($1,392 billion) in the Fortune 500 largest companies in America (Fortune Magazine, 30 April 2007).

Advice to coaches and tutors – the calibration of activating skill intelligence An activating skill intelligence calibration programme needs to have an ideally accepted model for both the factors that influence activating performance and the identification of gifted people. This, so that coaches and tutors can assist students, employees and interested persons.

ARTISTIC/CREATIVE SKILL INTELLIGENCE Artistic/creative skill intelligence is a person’s mental power to create visuals, artefacts and performances of beauty and value that evoke emotions and feelings in others. It manifests itself in creative and artistic expressions like painting, sculpting, architectural design, product and process design, acting, singing, musical composition and writing. People respond to images, sounds, ideas and the emotions of others brought to them through artefacts, words, sounds, pictures or shows. Artistic-creative talent is powerful when well developed. Authors, sculptors, painters, musicians and actors bring excitement to millions and induce follower or fan behaviour in many societies. #3 – Artistic/Creative Skill Intelligence Dominant Role Type

Artist, Creator, Designer, Architect

ABSTRACT/ ANALYTICAL

AWARENESS

ATHLETIC

ACTIVATING

Artistic-creative skills are expressed in original design, drawing, sketching, painting, writing, sculpting, composing music, playing music, singing, acting, building and constructing.

ARTISTIC/ CREATIVE

Advice to coaches and tutors – the calibration of artistic/creative skill intelligence An artistic/creative skill intelligence calibration programme needs to have an ideally accepted model for both the factors that influence artistic and creative performance and the identification of gifted people so that coaches and tutors can assist students, employees and interested persons.

Chapter 8: The alpha skill intelligences

49

ATHLETIC SKILL INTELLIGENCE Athletic skill intelligence is a person’s physical strength, stamina, speed, coordination and neural energy and the power exerted when working and competing for success, a livelihood and selffulfilment. Athletic skill intelligence is the innate physical performance capacity of the human body. It manifests itself in qualities like speed, strength, agility, spring, balance, muscle coordination, resilience, stamina and asceticism. Athletic skill intelligence is a powerful intelligence which is expressed in competitive pursuits like sport, entrepreneurship and business. Good athletes excite millions of fans through their prowess on the sports fields and induce commitment, sacrifice and achievement amongst colleagues or subordinates in the workplace. Good sportsmen and women, as well as entrepreneurs, excite investors, buyers, clients and customers. One critical component of athleticism is asceticism, that is, the natural stamina people possess to labour physically and mentally and to get emotional and spiritual satisfaction from work. Asceticism is the practise of austere self-discipline, voluntarily undertaken in order to achieve a higher or spiritual ideal. The term is derived from the Greek askein and askesis, which, in the time of Homer, meant “to practise an art or skill”, physical exercise and, more especially, athletic training. Later in Greece the term took on a broader meaning of “exercise”; so the early ascetics were skilled in athletics and the military arts. The various Greek philosophical schools, such as the Pythagoreans, Stoics, Sophists and Cynics used asceticism as a system of moral practices to free men of vices. Plato viewed asceticism as a means of not only conditioning the body, but also conditioning it up to a point at which the soul – the sum total of ideals – could be free. The early Christians adopted it to signify the practise of spiritual things, or spiritual exercises performed for the purpose of acquiring habits of virtue.

# 4 – Athletic Skill Intelligence Dominant Role Type

Athlete, Sportsman, Player, Hard Worker

ABSTRACT/ ANALYTICAL

AWARENESS

ATHLETIC

50

ACTIVATING

Athletic skills are expressed in physical and mental competition and manifest themselves in visible physical qualities like speed, strength, spring, agility, balance, stamina, resilience and spatial judgement.

ARTISTIC/ CREATIVE

Talent Management

Advice to coaches and tutors – the calibration of athletic skill intelligence (“sporting talent”) For each sport that conducts a talent calibration programme there needs to be an ideally accepted model for both the factors that influence sporting performance and for talent identification, with which athletes and coaches can compare their own qualities. One can define sports talent calibration as “the process by which children are encouraged to participate in the sports at which they are most likely to succeed, based on results of testing selected parameters. These parameters are designed to predict performance capacity, taking into account the child's current level of fitness and maturity.” 1

AWARENESS SKILL INTELLIGENCE Awareness skill intelligence is a person’s mental ability to sense and visualise the immediate, evolving and future physical and non-physical environments and their effects on people. Awareness skill intelligence is an individual’s innate physical, intuitive and psychic sensing capacity. It enables the individual to sense, assess and respond to his or her environment in terms of dangers, threats and opportunities. The consciousness and super-consciousness that derive from sensing signals from the physical and metaphysical environments are vital for success and future survival. This manifests itself in an individual’s capacity to see, feel, taste, hear and smell, as well as in a person’s capacity to envision future events and circumstances and to sense, observe and connect with paranormal phenomena. People who possess awareness skill intelligence as a dominant strength display sensory acuteness, powers of observation, psychic ability (clairvoyance), spiritual connectivity, intuition and vision. #5 – Awareness Skill Intelligence Dominant Role Type

Visionary, Psychic, Prophet, Forecaster, Scout

ABSTRACT/ ANALYTICAL

AWARENESS

ATHLETIC

Awareness skills manifest themselves in extreme sensory sensitivity, environmental awareness, vision, intuition, anticipation, clairvoyance, clairsentience and psychic abilities. ACTIVATING

ARTISTIC/ CREATIVE

Vision is the art of seeing things invisible. Jonathan Swift 1 Talent calibration also helps to accelerate an identified individual’s progression to an elite level and helps him or her attain a high performance level by the time he or she reaches international competition. It also assists individuals in selecting a sport they are suited to, thus helping to eliminate the frustrations caused by participating in a sport they are not suited to. They also see talent calibration as being advantageous to coaches by focusing their training time on athletes with higher levels of talent and abilities for their particular sport. Talent calibration also allows countries to get the best from their limited sporting resources (Peltola, 1992: 7-12).

Chapter 8: The alpha skill intelligences

51

Advice to coaches and tutors – the calibration of awareness skill intelligence An awareness calibration programme needs to have an ideally accepted model for both the factors that influence sensing performance and the identification of gifted people so that coaches and tutors can assist students, employees and interested persons.

52

Talent Management

CHAPTER NINE THE VIRTUE INTELLIGENCES It is almost a definition of a gentleman to say that he is one who never inflicts pain. Cardinal Newman (1801 – 1890) What we do on some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are; and what we are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline. H.P. Liddon Principles are immovable; they are timeless and universal. They do not change. They are respecters of age, race, creed, gender, or status – everyone is equally subject to them. Like the lighthouse, principles provide permanent markers against which people can set their direction in times of both storm and calm, darkness and light. Stephen R. Covey – Everyday Greatness (2007)

Virtue intelligence is our ability to monitor and moderate our instinctive social behaviour and our attitude and conduct towards others. Well-developed virtue intelligences allow us to take full advantage of our potency and skill intelligences in realising our truest interest without abuse or injury to other people. Embedding virtue intelligence in every member of society has been a passion throughout the ages. Religions have always been the vehicles for cultivating and embedding virtue intelligence amongst members. The rituals and texts used in churches had one goal – to train people in the virtue intelligences (principles) that are essential to a peaceful, harmonious and productive society. People must have realised at the very early stages of civilisation that a set of strict behavioural rules would be required to get people to live in harmony and work together to achieve social development goals that benefit their community. Without well-developed principles people, become mere animals that make war, steal and kill for survival. The virtue intelligences we seek to cultivate and reward in individuals today were derived from the written and spoken wisdoms of people like Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Buddha, Mohammed and Jesus of Nazareth, as well as from extracts of the scriptures they produced or quoted as gurus of virtue intelligence. According to historical teachings, there are four cardinal virtues (prudence, temperance, fortitude, justice) and three heavenly graces (faith, hope, charity (love)). The capital virtues are humility, liberality, brotherly love, meekness, chastity, temperance and diligence. The capital sins, sometimes called “the seven deadly sins”, are pride, avarice (greed), envy, wrath, lust, gluttony and sloth. The first four virtue intelligences (prudence, temperance, fortitude, justice) and the seven deadly sins (pride, avarice (greed), envy, wrath, lust, gluttony and sloth) can be traced back to Greek philosophers and Christian theologians who readily adopted them, arguing that they were applicable to all humans, Christian or otherwise. The final three virtue intelligences (chastity, temperance and diligence) developed out of Christian theological work, but in particular from the writings of Paul in the New Testament of the Bible. There are also seven “contrary” virtues: Humility, kindness, abstinence, chastity, patience, generosity and diligence. They are called “contrary” because each one stands in direct opposition to one of the seven deadly sins. It is believed that a conscious attempt to cultivate these virtues will help a person avoid their contrary sins: Humility vs. pride, kindness vs. envy, abstinence vs. gluttony, chastity vs. lust, patience vs. anger, generosity vs. greed, and diligence vs. sloth. Chapter 9: The virtue intelligences

53

Confucius lived 500 years before Jesus Christ in what is now known as China. His truest interest was teaching humans about being good. He was the inventor of the golden rule: “Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you.” It is recorded that Confucius demanded that his pupils be “quick in apprehension, clear in discernment, of far-reaching intelligence and allembracing knowledge, fitted to exercise rule, magnanimous, fitted to exercise forbearance”. They had to learn “gravity, earnestness, faithfulness, kindness and a reverent attention to business” (Reader’s Digest Great Lives, Great Deeds, Max Eastman, ‘The Wisdom of Confucius’, 1965: 132). Confucius placed great emphasis on sincerity and said that to travel “the path of truth” there must be no self-deception. Confucius is recognised and worshipped for his teachings of the pure, high, temperate and simple art of living and the virtue of the family as the unit of love. The Buddha or “The Enlightened One”, who also lived 500 years before Jesus Christ, similarly made a great contribution to virtue intelligence. His truest interest was to teach people a noble and happy way of living and dying in the present world. He believed that peace and perfect happiness sprang from liberating the mind from superstition, from strict disciplining of the will, from flooding the world with love and being humble (Ibid: 132). His eightfold path to salvation reads like this: Blessed are they who know, and whose knowledge is free from delusion Blessed are they who speak what they know in a kindly, open and truthful manner Blessed are those whose conduct is peaceful, honest and pure Blessed are they who earn their livelihood in a way that brings hurt or danger to no living thing Blessed are the tranquil, who cast out ill will, pride, self-righteousness, and put in their place love, pity and sympathy Blessed are ye when ye direct your best efforts to self-training and self-control Blessed beyond measure, when ye are by this means unwrapped from the limitations of selfhood And blessed, finally, are they who find rapture in contemplating what is deeply and really true about this world and our life in it. According to his teachings, people who follow this path of salvation will reach “Nirvana” – the ideal state of peace and happiness. His teachings have guided the thoughts and behaviour of millions of people for thousands of years. We can distinguish two distinct virtue intelligence trees. The first determines the wellness and potency of the individual and the second manages the relations between individuals and helps people build fulfilling and harmonious relationships.

54

Talent Management

VIRTUE INTELLIGENCES THAT DETERMINE WELLNESS AND POTENCY Temperance

Resolution

Chastity

Frugality

Cleanliness

Diligence WELLNESS AND POTENCY

Virtue intelligences that secure and build our personal wellness and potency The words of Benjamin Franklin are used to explain the meaning of the words. Benjamin Franklin dedicated himself to the clarification of virtues and devoted a significant part of his life to this cause. Benjamin Franklin was a printer, author, philosopher, statesman, scientist, inventor rated on equal footing with Newton and rated in some respects as the greatest man the American continent has produced. He is rated as the philosopher who did most to extend the rights of man over the whole world. Reader’s Digest – Great Lives Great Deeds

Virtue intelligence

Influence

1. Temperance – “Eat not to dullness, drink not to elevation, avoid extremes, forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.”

When we avoid excesses and extremes of any kind in the consumption of food, drink and other consumables, we maintain the internal balance and harmony required for sustained wellness.

2. Chastity – “Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or to the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.”

When we avoid excesses in sexual activity, we reduce the risk of exposure to diseases, interpersonal conflict and creating dependencies.

3. Cleanliness – “Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes or habitation.”

When we strive for personal cleanliness, we reduce the risk of contamination and infection to ourselves and others.

4. Resolution – “Resolve to perform what you ought to and perform without fail what you resolve.”

When we deliver on our promises to ourselves and others, we establish inner and mutual trust.

5. Frugality – “Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e. waste nothing.”

When we work wisely and sparingly with our money and assets, we are in a position to help others who are in need.

6. Diligence – “Lose no time, be always employed in something useful, cut off all unnecessary actions.”

When we invest our time in useful work and ensure that we do it in the most effective and efficient way, and so that we receive fair compensation for our effort, we can help people who need help.

Chapter 9: The virtue intelligences

55

VIRTUE INTELLIGENCES THAT DETERMINE INTERPERSONAL HARMONY Justice

Humility

Sincerity

Respect

Generosity

Caring INTERPERSONAL HARMONY

Virtue intelligences that secure and build interpersonal harmony Virtue intelligence

Influence

1. Justice – “Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.”

When we avoid and decline unethical and illegal opportunities and refrain from knowingly harming people, we protect ourselves from adversity and injury.

2. Sincerity – “Use no hurtful deceit, think innocently and justly and if you speak, speak accordingly.”

When we are sincere and just without deceit in our interactions and dealings with people, no harm or injury will come to our loved ones and ourselves.

3. Generosity – “Give to the needy.”

When we are kind and give to the needy, we will receive blessings and kindness beyond our wildest dreams.

4. Humility – “Avoid arrogance and overbearing pride.”

When we are humble, people will see and experience the strength in us, more so than when we are arrogant.

5. Respect for dignity – “Nurture the dignity of others.”

When we nurture the dignity of another person, we grow the true inner spirit of that person.

6. Caring – “Love thy neighbor like thyself.”

When we care about people as we would like them to care for us, we live according to the golden rule.

Source: Quotations are from Benjamin Franklin in his autobiography of 1784.

Thanks to a milestone Financial Mail special souvenir edition on Nelson Mandela’s Lessons in Leadership, which reported the experiences and views of prominent South African corporate captains of the character of Mandela, we have a testament to his gifts as a leader and a portrait of his virtue intelligence. “Mandela is still fulfilling the role of mentor, guardian, and anchor of the new state whose founding president he became in 1994” (Amarnath Singh (ed.), Financial Mail, Special Souvenir Edition, 24 December 2004).

56

Talent Management

Amarnath Singh highlighted the following aspects of Mandela’s gifted leadership: “...his steadfast purpose, common touch, strategic compromise, political timing, moral authority, love of children, sacrifice, vision, courage, risk-taking, humility, ability to listen, stubborn streak, gift of reaching out, deference to the wisdom of others, loyalty, sense of fun and ability to laugh at himself.” De Beers chairman, Nicky Oppenheimer, wrote: “I have observed his remarkable ability to walk with kings and keep the common touch, his dignity at occasions of much pomp and circumstance coupled with a determination to meet and delight the ‘ordinary’ men and women who make such occasions possible. I have seen and wondered at the total lack of bitterness in a man who had more reason to be bitter than any of his fellows; the genuine humility of one who had more reason to be proud than any other leader in the world today. And I have fallen frequent and willing victim to his charm and his implacable will. I have enjoyed his infectious sense of fun and his simple love of life.” To quote Jay Naidoo, chairman of J&J group: “Mandela radiates honesty, tolerance and humility. He is the epitome of an egalitarian spirit I believe the world hungers for.” Saki Macozoma, chief executive of New Africa Investments, said: “What has distinguished the leadership of Mandela is his deep caring for people. All his vision, courage and passion were based on his love for people. That allowed him to put the interests of his people above all else.” Professor Jakes Gerwel, chairman of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said: “One should never forget to add that this human being, who has risen to near-mythical status, has always had a twinkle in his eye and sense of humour, no matter how serious he may be. That is the reason why, if final reckonings are one day written about this great leader in the history of humanity, the word “love” will be placed alongside the word “respect”. According to Reuel Khoza, former chairman of Eskom: “Tata (Mandela) personifies leadership whose defining features are probity, humility, integrity, empathy and humaneness.” Hixonia Nyasulu, executive chairman of Ayavuna Women’s Investments, said: “What makes Mandela a particularly strong leader is his humility. It manifests itself in his ability to forgive and his openness to other points of view.” Cyril Ramaphosa, executive chairman of Shanduka group, added: “Mandela sought not to cultivate an army of followers, but an army of leaders – people able to take responsibility for determining their own destiny, the destiny of their organisation and the destiny of the country.”

Chapter 9: The virtue intelligences

57

PART FOUR TALENT CULTIVATION

The deliberate practice of developing talent LEADERS AS COACHES FORCED RANKING CAREER PLANNING

CHAPTER TEN LEADERS AS COACHES Caesar was the kind of commander soldiers idolized, forever thinking of rations and pay for the troops, always building up the pride of the army. He went to meet danger ahead of all the rest, sword flashing high and scarlet cloak fluttering in the wind of battle. Donald Culross Peattie, Great Lives, Great Deeds (1965) You’ve got to have great athletes to win, I don’t care who the coach is. You can’t win without good athletes, but you can lose with them. This is where coaching makes the difference. Lou Holtz – former coach of Notre Dame – from Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell

CULTIVATING LEADERS AND MANAGERS AS COACHES AND MENTORS (AS PART OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT) Leaders and managers with a love of coaching and with coaching abilities are a scarce commodity in the corporate and institutional environment. Their occurrence is more a miracle than the rule, the reason being that, in the typical business culture, it is assumed that institutions of training and learning must turn out people with relevant skills – it is their assumed mandate and reason for existence. Employers (managers) do not regard it as their responsibility to develop people’s talent. Their assumed job is to protect and further the interests of investors and shareholders. Their core focus is return on investment, the client and the product or the service the client requires, and then technology and business processes. Talent management performance invariably fails to make it into the Balanced Scorecard as a key performance indicator. Institutions of higher learning are geared to cultivate talent, but the experience space for maximising talent is provided when someone is employed. Institutions of higher learning instil the specialist knowledge or skills of a specific discipline: Engineering students are taught the principles and practices of engineering, accountants are taught the principles and practices of accounting, etc. Only by mere chance will you find a tutor expanding his mandate beyond the curriculum to inspire a truest interest or to assume a coaching role with regard to maximising students’ truest interest, potency or virtue intelligences. It is thus crucial that employers assume responsibility for the creation and coaching of talent. They must scout for youngsters with potency, and they must inform students of employment and project prospects. They must provide the exposures that reveal hidden interests and dormant intelligences. Coaching is a practice aimed at developing the world view and personal and interpersonal skills of the employee so that he or she can work effectively, efficiently and enjoyably. Coaching is aimed at getting people to want to achieve something truly meaningful in life. Coaching is not teaching – coaching is about improving performance and leveraging talent and achievement. Coaching is about aligning thoughts, feelings and actions with desired goals. It is about identifying patterns of reactions and assessing whether these patterns support their goals, and is about setting out to change disabling patterns of behaviour. Teaching is a process whereby an expert imparts knowledge. The teacher is assumed to know the right answers. In coaching, there are no “right” or “wrong” answers – only solutions which the coach and employee agree can work. 60

Talent Management

Coaching is also different from counselling. Counselling covers sources of unhappiness that coaches are just not qualified to discuss, such as conflicts at home, personal traumas and traumatic childhood experiences. An unqualified counsellor can turn a person into an emotional wreck. The tasks of coaching: • Establishing mutual trust • Establishing intent and motivation – vision, goals and targets • Providing encouragement when faced with blockages • Assessing performance and giving feedback • Empowering through resources • Inspiring through incentives, rather than directing and controlling • Challenging, rather than criticising and abusing • Always asking insightful questions to help employees come up with solutions at their own pace. Personal attributes of a good coach: • Desire to help other people • Convinced of the importance of coaching • Respect for the choices the employee makes – people value different things in life • Patience – people learn at different rates • Appropriate sense of humour • Good judgement. Good coaching skills: • Establish voluntary coaching relationships based on mutual desire and agreement. • Establish and build commitment to a medium- and long-term result or outcome (a personal vision and goals for the person). The coach must help the employee to envision an achievement that will be exciting and rewarding. • Establish the skills and learning experiences the employee will need to achieve his or her vision. • Grow interpersonal sensitivity (how the vision and behaviour will impact on others). • Set ground rules (in dealings with others, handling information and feedback). • Set boundaries (decide whether personal relationships will be discussed). • Set time aside for formal coaching – e.g. once a week for eight to twelve weeks. • Feel on top of the world – the coach must be inspirational. Don’t coach when tired or feeling negative. Chapter 10: Leaders as coaches

61

• Avoid interruptions. • Develop questioning skills – asking the right sort of questions is a key coaching skill. Establish where the employee finds himself or herself and where he or she is heading. It is good practice to prepare a list of ten questions for the coaching sessions. • Develop listening and interpretation skills. Listening demonstrates that you are interested and encourages the employee to speak; listening helps to develop an employee’s confidence. It helps the employee to come up with solutions for himself or herself. Failing to listen leads to misunderstanding, confusion and even hurt feelings and embarrassment. Non-verbal cues or body language play an important role in showing that you are listening. Take notes, use posture, nod, observe and mirror facial expressions, make affirming noises. • Show empathy – identify with the problems of the employee. • Make coaching sessions fun and enjoyable. As mentioned before, great leaders and managers are at the core of a talent management culture. They are brave and trust employees with new initiatives. The most vital relationship in career and professional development is that between leader, manager and employee. Leaders and managers are the force multipliers of the company and can develop tens or even hundreds of employees through talent management. The job roles of both the leader and manager in an organisation incorporate a responsibility for coaching. This coaching responsibility must be defined as responsibility for talent management.

HOLDING MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTABLE FOR TALENT Accountability for talent cultivation is part of the formula for enhancing talent management. Managers should be held accountable for developing their employees (for not losing key contributors to turnover), for promoting knowledge sharing and collaboration, and for making good hiring decisions. Executives should be held accountable for the strength of talent pools, the depth of bench strength (the number of talented people who are on standby and can be deployed immediately), and instituting effective talent management practices. Accountability is vital for developing and enhancing a culture of high performance. Employees should be held accountable for their own professional development and ongoing learning.

Firing poor performers – especially poor managers A major source of intra-organisational stress is poor talent managers and managers who do nothing to restrict or remove poor performers. Almost everyone in the company knows who the poor performers are; management therefore loses credibility when it fails to act.

High standards Excellent performance and disciplined behaviour from everyone must be a non-negotiable in cultivating talent. Nothing less than excellence will suffice. This requirement must permeate the culture of the organisation so that all levels are committed to attaining a superior standard. Scorecards must reflect measures that maximise achievement and talent leverage.

62

Talent Management

Rewarding outstanding and breakout achievement People who provide more value than others to the enterprise with their achievements should receive greater rewards, recognition and growth opportunities. An incentive policy that ignores excellence and breakout achievements spreads confusion throughout the enterprise and results in the disillusionment of the best performers, thus rewarding mediocre achievement.

Supporting individual development plans Employees must know where they stand in terms of their performance strengths, weaknesses and the competencies they need to further develop for promotion. Career maps need to be in place so they can drive their own careers, participate in new activities and achieve even greater success. Without these development maps, people and companies lose focus as regards key development interventions.

Chapter 10: Leaders as coaches

63

CHAPTER ELEVEN FORCED RANKING Live to be the show and the gaze of the time. William Shakespeare – Macbeth (1564 – 1616) Most of us plateau when we lose the tension between where we are and where we ought to be. John Gardener It is easy – terribly easy – to shake a man’s faith in himself. To take advantage of that to break a man’s spirit is devil’s work. George Bernard Shaw – Candida (1856 – 1950)

Forced ranking is a tough-minded talent-cultivating practice that assesses employee performance and potential against peers rather than against predetermined goals. Managers are required to rigorously differentiate talent. It enables organisations to identify and retain their best talent, groom future leaders, and confront poor performers – thus helping organisations and their employees reach new heights of performance success. It is a practice that guards companies against managers who are afraid to evaluate their employees as anything other than “fully satisfactory”, even when some of those employees are top performers and others are laggards. The procedure sorts employees into three groups: “A top 20 percent on whom rewards, promotions, and stock options are showered; a ‘high-performing middle’ 70 percent with good futures; and a bottom 10 percent” (Dick Grote, ‘Forced Ranking: Making Performance Management Work’, Internet article, 14 November 2005). Forced ranking is an exacting process for distinguishing the relative talent in your organisation and eliminating the problems of inflated ratings and ratings variability often complained about in connection with performance appraisal systems. Fortune Magazine estimated at one time that a quarter of Fortune 500 companies had instituted forced ranking programmes. Forced ranking systems operate on a relative comparison basis: How good is person A’s performance compared with that of B and C and D? Both absolute and relative comparisons are important to get a comprehensive and accurate picture of organisational talent. Forced ranking systems give managers the skills and courage to accurately evaluate an employee’s past performance and leadership potential; they explain how to develop each individual’s “signature strengths” in order to build transformational job performance; and they describe how to create development plans that work. This differs from absolute rating approaches, where employees are assessed against defined standards and are typically rated as "meets," "below" and "exceeds" expectations. A forced ranking process assesses employee performance relative to a peer group and often includes quotas or forced distributions of ratings (e.g. 10% low, 70% middle, 20% high). To initiate a forced ranking process, companies typically define a small number of criteria for gauging employees – usually at the middle and senior leadership level. Senior executives (themselves often having already been ranked by the CEO) evaluate the population against the criteria. They discuss each individual and assign him or her to the top 20 percent, vital 70 percent, or bottom 10 percent. 64

Talent Management

The payoff for companies from forced talent ranking comes from the action taken with each person, following the assessment sessions. Identified top performers (A players) are subject to aggressive development, grooming and rapid promotion. This ensures that the company has the highest-performing executive talent pool leading it, both now and in the future. Managers placed in the lowest category (C players) are typically removed from their positions or from the organisation altogether. This separation process frees the organisation from relatively lesser-performing contributors and allows these individuals to create a higher probability of career success by accessing jobs and/or organisations that are more congruent with their skills. Many companies have described their forced ranking processes as critical to achieving a high performance culture and driving enterprise results and have adopted forced ranking with a noble purpose in mind: To take a more rigorous approach to managing talent and weed out poor performers. A sound forced ranking practice requires aftercare. As it is a rigorous performance management practice, leaders must continually assess the state of, and guard against, negatives slipping in. Here are some performance assurance criteria for forced ranking as an effective talent management practice. Forced ranking policies must incorporate measures that prevent these negatives: • The forced ranking process must build trust between employees and leadership. Forced ranking can lead to an attitude of fear, unwillingness to make mistakes, and stifled creativity in the absence of trust. • The forced ranking process must fit into a holistic performance management system. It must not become the performance management system or overpower other tools of performance management. Forced ranking can place too much emphasis on quick assessments and too little emphasis on other aspects of good performance management, such as expectation setting, ongoing sharing of performance information and meaningful talent development. • The talent assessment criteria in terms of which forced ranking is done must be valid, accurate and precise to prevent statistics that induce inequity in and across departments. Some teams or departments may consist entirely of superlative performers, yet the system dictates that the bottom 10% will still be cut, whereas another team may be composed largely of poor performers, 90% of whom will be retained. Inequity within departments is also a problem. Some teams may have many individuals with almost no differences in performance between them, yet supervisors might still be forced to identify 10% for elimination. This can lead to charges of unfair treatment and to lower morale. Long-term damage to morale and teamwork is thus a problem. • Teamwork must be one of the talent assessment measures. People must be given credit for their ability to work effectively in teams. Forced ranking can encourage an “every one for himself/herself” attitude, and this can discourage teamwork. It can also discourage people from asking others for help or for the necessary training, for fear that this will leave them open to being identified as poor performers. • Forced ranking must be managed on a cost/benefit basis to ensure that direct financial benefits for the company are balanced with morale and engagement benefits. Turnover induced by forced ranking can become high when some (or all) employees with low rankings are eliminated and replaced. The resulting costs and uncertainties of hiring and training replacements, as well as lower productivity in their early months, must be considered. Employee engagement must be a key measure of the effectiveness of the performance management system. Chapter 11: Forced ranking

65

A forced ranking system must provide time for workers to improve. Managers must have time to find another job or department in which an employee may fit, and therefore perform better. The 10% elimination process must be managed with care and managers must invest time and effort in the development of poor performers, helping them to develop their skills or find an alternative career that aligns with their talent. A forced ranking system must be supported by talent care and coaching processes. Employees who are incorrectly placed in terms of their truest interest, potency and skill intelligences must be coached and assisted with career planning counselling.

66

Talent Management

CHAPTER TWELVE CAREER PLANNING Use what talent you possess: The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best. Henry van Dyke

Leaders and managers who have established themselves as astute talent coaches can and should assist protégés with career planning based on their assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the individuals. It is quite easy for a master coach to assess whether a protégé’s strongest career affinity is working with people, data, ideas or things. A structured talk also soon reveals the domain of a protégé’s truest interest and a questionnaire reveals his or her preferred skill intelligences and strongest virtue intelligences (see Addendum). Career selection is not rocket science. The hallmark of a quality career decision is that the selection can accommodate and sustain the full professional employment life cycle of the individual, from novice to master, offering a sustained experience of total wellness. Nobody wants to kick off a career as an accountant, lawyer or doctor, only to realise after one or two decades that they were forced by somebody to make the wrong career choice. This unfortunately happens quite frequently. Parents select careers on behalf of their children, without any idea of their truest interest, market demand, compensation, benefits, opportunities and qualification requirements, or whether the skills profile of the child aligns with the career selection. A career interest and skill intelligence matrix used for a career discussion (see p. 68), normally raises a number of interesting career opportunities. Truest interest determines the horizontal line of opportunities and the dominant skill intelligences determine the vertical line. The intersections offer the area of selection. Invariably a few preferences are identified which must then be subjected to closer scrutiny – assessing professional recognition advantages, market demand, market supply, academic requirements, compensation ranges and job flexibility. Once the possibilities have been narrowed down to a critical few, the protégé can then visit the odd employer and discuss the nature of the job’s responsibilities. The future career picture is soon completed, after which the real work begins. Usually it involves enrollment and study with an institution of learning that is respected for its education in that field. Nobody wants to graduate from a college or university with inferior qualifications. The best development situation available, is an internship. This is when you work while you learn. It is the quickest way to accumulate the knowledge and skills required for satisfactory career progress.

Chapter 12: Career planning

67

CAREER INTEREST AND SKILL INTELLIGENCE MATRIX Truest interest domain

Best-fit career options based on skill intelligence (natural bias) Alpha skill intelligences Abstracting/ Analytical

Activating

Athletic

Artistic / Creative

Awareness

Working with PEOPLE (Comfortable with a high level of interaction with people)

Medical doctor Lawyer / attorney Regulator HR consultant Recruiter

Entrepreneur Leader Manager Teacher Coach Politician Preacher

Physical contact Athlete

Performing arts Applied arts

Social planner Market planner Security Police Psychic Fortune teller

Working with THINGS (Comfortable with a high level of interaction with things)

Constructor Maintenance artisan Builder

Entrepreneur Leader Manager Teacher Coach Sales

Athlete (racing driver) Athlete - golfer Athlete - tennis player Athlete - cyclist Sports cameraman

Architect Sculptor Craft artisan Painter Orchestra player Pianist Landscaper Photographer

Product developer Product innovator

Working with INFORMATION (Comfortable with a high level of interaction with data)

Editor Accountant Computer specialist Software developer Librarian Researcher Analyst Consultant

Entrepreneur Leader Manager Teacher Coach

Sports editor Sports reporter

Researcher Marketer Author Reporter

Financial planner Financial forecaster

Working with KNOWLEDGE (Comfortable with a high level of interaction with ideas)

Engineering Natural scientist Physicist Consultant

Entrepreneur Leader Manager Teacher Coach

Sports editor Sports reporter

Designer Researcher Author Reporter

Concept developer Process developer Process innovator

68

Talent Management

PART FIVE LEVERAGING TALENT

The deliberate practice of activating and leveraging talent MOTIVATION BREAKOUT ACHIEVEMENT

CHAPTER THIRTEEN MOTIVATION The number one reason for failure is action without planning. Brian Tracy Anything less than a conscious commitment to the important is an unconscious commitment to the unimportant. Stephen R. Covey – First Things First

Motivation activates, disciplines and sustains virtuous human behaviour. It induces goal-and achievement-oriented human behaviour and leads to results. Motivation is a process of setting and pursuing challenging, future-directed goals and objectives, targets and deadlines that mobilise people to implement and achieve results. It directs and activates behaviour through challenge, focus, goal clarity and measurement. Motivation results in constructive, progressive going-forward behaviour (momentum). The instruments of motivation are project plans, written goals, affirmations, visions, missions, strategies, planned actions, deadlines, targets, standards, measures, performance- and servicelevel agreements, contracts and performance scorecards. Successful people, teams and institutions typically have one or more mechanisms or instruments that ensure motivation and momentum. Goals like winning the league, drawing a certain number of spectators or setting a new record for gate money are typical of motivational goals for sporting organisations. In its simplest form, personal motivation is typically provided by a personal affirmation, vision or goal and a set of time-related objectives, like becoming a professional player or advisor before the age of twenty-five. These objectives provide momentum. In its most practical application, motivation is provided by a daily to-do list. Most successful people actually produce a to-do list for themselves every day at the start of the day. This helps them focus on key outcomes so that they are not distracted by the events and intrusions of a typical, busy environment. It is an imperative for success to set and pursue objectives and milestones towards a goal or affirmation. Some people have a personal vision and a sophisticated set of time-related goals and objectives for living balanced lives.

INSTRUMENTS OF MOTIVATION The following instruments induce motivation: • • • • • • • 70

Strategic and business plans Visions, missions and goals Strategy maps Contracts Scorecards - performance or achievement-related bonuses Benchmarks Rankings. Talent Management

Achievements are measured by relating actual results with targets or benchmarked norms. Strategic performance intelligence is gathered with a view to measuring performance.

CULTURES OF ACHIEVEMENT Cultures of achievement are to be found in organised groups of people such as families, teams, institutions and societies and are easily discernible owing to their vibrant atmosphere and magnetism. People want to join in and be part of such a culture. An achievement culture influences the thinking, focus, action and passion of members and their commitment to success. One can immediately sense the presence of a culture of achievement. Simple things like the neatness of an office, the presence of flowers, the appearance and mannerisms of team members, and the content of conversations and attitudes of people towards clients and supporters are clear indicators. The following are found in an achievement culture: • Ambitious people • Ambitious ideals, especially for the organisation, are prevalent. Customer satisfaction, sales growth, income and market share growth are typical ideals • Best practices • Pride in performance • A sense of urgency • Integrity • Accountability • Symbols of identity (logo, flag and colours) • Instruments of motivation and measurement • Measures for measuring individual achievement • Measures for measuring team achievement • Measures for measuring institutional achievement • Strong values and beliefs. In the context of talent management, motivation will drive performance in the key performance areas of talent management, namely creation, calibration, cultivation, leverage, caring and coaching. Motivation in talent management ensures that objectives, measures, key performance indicators and targets are set and achieved for talent creation, calibration, cultivation, leveraging, caring and coaching – it thus controls and assures the quality of talent management. One can even expect the best organisations to have a strategy map and Balanced Scorecard for talent management. There will thus be a company vision for talent management and performance perspectives in order to ensure balanced performance and objectives, measures, targets and indicators.

Chapter 13: Motivation

71

CHAPTER FOURTEEN BREAKOUT ACHIEVEMENT Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumph, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat. Theodore Roosevelt, US President (Term of office: 1901 – 1909) At 42, the youngest man ever to hold the position. One of the redeeming things about being an athlete is to redefine what's humanly possible. Lance Armstrong – Winner of 7 Tour de France cycling races

The most powerful intervention for cultivating and leveraging talent is being selected to a special task team and becoming personally involved in the engineering and execution of a breakout achievement. Breakout achievements demand a supreme personal level of performance for a specific time, making full use of every element of talent. No performance management system can induce the level of learning, effort, emotions and virtues that an engineered breakout achievement project can generate. The hardships and peak experiences associated with breakout achievements provide the source material for great stories that circulate for generations.

PEAK EXPERIENCES American psychologist and philosopher, Abraham H. Maslow (1908-1970), coined the term “peak experience” to describe non-religious, quasi-mystical and mystical experiences. Having a peak experience can be compared to climbing a mountain peak and being able to see things and places never seen before, when reaching the top. Peak experiences are sudden feelings of intense happiness and wellness. They induce the awareness of “ultimate truth” and the unity of all things. Peak experiences are accompanied by a heightened sense of control over the body and emotions, and a greater sense of awareness, as though one were standing on a mountain top – the experience fills the individual with wonder and awe. He feels at one with the world and is pleased with it; he or she has seen the ultimate truth or the essence of all things (www.themystica.com/mystica/ articles/p/peak_experiences.html and http://www.nidus.org).

THE BREAKOUT PRINCIPLE Harvard Medical School Professor, Herbert Benson, author of The Breakout Principle (2003), written with William Proctor, explains how meditation, relaxation or backing off can trigger a powerful biological switch that increases mental functioning, enhances creativity and productivity, and maximises performance. His research and study convinced him that the Breakout Principle does indeed transcend other self-transformation claims, to the point that it constitutes a kind of “ultimate self-help principle” that can carry a person to significantly new levels of performance and achievement.

72

Talent Management

The four stages of breakout Without struggle, there is no breakout. Struggle, according to Benson, is the first of four distinct stages of a breakout achievement. The Yerkes-Dodson Law, formulated by Harvard researchers Robert M. Yerkes and John D. Dodson in 1908, says that as stress increases so do efficiency and performance, but only up to a certain point. When stress becomes too great, performance and efficiency tend to decline, the researchers discovered. The “simple yet profound” conclusions of Yerkes and Dodson form the underpinning of the Breakout Principle. Benson and Proctor wrote: “The person who successfully balances stress according to the Yerkes-Dodson Law will be in a strong position to experience a breakout” (Benson & Proctor, 2003: 11). The process begins with a hard mental or physical struggle. For the businessperson or student this may be a concentrated period of study and research. For the athlete, it may be planning and executing a demanding training cycle. The second stage is pulling the breakout trigger. It immediately follows the struggle. Benson calls this stage “letting go”, “backing off”, or “releasing” your mind from work mode. Measurable changes occur in the body when the trigger is pulled. The third stage is the “breakout proper, coupled with a peak experience”. The breakout, which is always accompanied by a “greater sense of wellbeing and relaxation”, may be a creative insight by a scientist or a personal best by an athlete. “Inevitably,” the authors write, “the peak will involve something unexpected – a surprise that produces unanticipated new ideas or higher levels of performance” (p. 26). The fourth and final stage involves a “new-normal state – including ongoing improved performance and mind-body patterns” (p. 28). This stage, of course, provides the platform for the next big idea or performance.

THE BREAKOUT PRINCIPLE - THE PEAK EXPERIENCE LIFE CYCLE Breakout zone

STAGE ONE Hard mental or physical struggle (adversity)

STAGE TWO Letting go (pulling the breakout trigger)

STAGE THREE Breakout proper, with peak experience

STAGE FOUR New normal state, improved situation

Biological response The startling discovery which encouraged Benson to write this book, his seventh, is that the calm or “letting go” that typically precedes the breakout “may cause the release of increasing amounts of nitric oxide throughout the body”. Nitric oxide is a special gas that participates in many biological functions such as neurotransmission and blood-vessel dilation. In short, Benson and his colleagues uncovered a specific reaction that may be the “biochemical foundation for the relaxation response”(Benson & Proctor, 2003: 94).

Chapter 14: Breakout achievement

73

“Nitric oxide,” Benson and Proctor explain, “counters the negative effects of the stress neurotransmitter norepinephrine (noradrenaline)”. This stress hormone, among other things, causes “a racing heart, high blood pressure, anger, anxiety, and greater vulnerability to pain”. Nitric oxide, on the other hand, is associated with “reduced blood pressure, lower heart rate, and an overall lowering of the metabolism”(Benson & Proctor, 2003: 89). Benson calls nitric oxide (NO) the “spirit” or catalyst, a kind of facilitator of the peak experience. “NO consists of message-carrying ‘puffs’ of gas that course through the entire body and central nervous system,” Benson says. In technical terms, it serves as a “gaseous diffusable modulator”. Among other things, it carries messages back and forth in the brain, between neurons that “may not be linked physically or electrically to one another”. It makes new connections possible (Benson & Proctor, 2003: 90). “The whole NO mechanism may somehow be connected with what we think of as the ‘mind,’” says Benson. “I seemed to have stumbled upon a biological mechanism that somehow encompasses the dynamics of human belief, the creative process, the essence of physical and mental performance, and even spiritual experience” (Benson & Proctor, 2003: 93). In summary, Benson believes that “pulling the breakout trigger releases body chemicals that counter stress hormones… paving the way for a peak experience”. In plain language, letting go after a period of struggle releases nitrous oxide, opening new neural pathways in the brain and body, which makes mental and physical breakouts possible (Benson & Proctor, 2003: 94).

The nature and dynamics of breakout achievement Breakout achievement towers over any ordinary achievement and usually contains strong elements of forcefulness, sacrifice, creativity, novelty and surprise. Typically, a breakout achievement has a lasting positive impact on society. There is usually no precedent for a breakout achievement. It is either a series of unpredicted and unprecedented successes that sets a new standard, like Lance Armstrong winning seven successive Tour de France cycle races, or Michael Schumacher winning seven Formula I world championships, or the sudden and unpredicted ending of a longstanding undesirable situation, or the breaking of a long-standing performance record that projects individuals, teams or institutions into a new sphere of publicity and aspiration. We measure breakout achievement in terms of the immediate and lasting impact on public attention, interest and benefit. Achievement refers to a satisfying, inspirational, liberating, empowering, value-adding or developmental experience, occurrence or outcome. Performance refers to the action taken and the effort and resources invested in pursuing an achievement. Success means victory or the realisation of the intended results of an achievement. The significance of an achievement is measured in terms of public response, and emotional and spiritual impact. Performance and success are measured in terms of qualitative and quantitative measures that reflect results in terms of variables like time, distance, volume, value, yield and variance from targets.

Mastery of breakout achievement The mastery of breakout achievement is impossible unless one has migrated through all the developmental phases of mastery and gained an understanding of the influences that impact on 74

Talent Management

achievement. There are no shortcuts or short-circuits to mastery. The neural pathways of the brain absorb and harvest new knowledge and skills through sensory loads and peak experiences infused with delicate and discretely recognisable and relevant deposits. The build-up in every phase has a cyclical, experiential passage of hardship, attunement, breakout achievement and new insight and relative proficiency.

The life cycle of, and pathway to, breakout achievement A breakout achievement represents a forceful break from an environment of anguish, complacency, dependency, entropy, restraining rules, beliefs and conditions and a leap to a new zone of supreme excitement, performance, empowerment, liberty, creativity, discovery, insight and wellness. We need breakout achievements in societies, institutions and in our personal lives to make the quantum shifts that drive natural change dynamics. A breakout achievement is an achievement without precedent which is sometimes so unexpected that it invokes excitement, admiration and respect amongst a great number of people. It transcends a status quo and dispensation and replaces long-held beliefs, norms, rules, standards, expectations and feelings with new ones. High levels of sacrifice, suffering and adversity during the build-up to the climax characterise a breakout achievement. Sacrifice, suffering and adversity induce a peak experience for participants and observers when breakout is confirmed and recognised. The peak experience induces altered perception, beliefs and behaviour, which may have further constructive or destructive effects. Breakout achievements are the fuel cells of change, progress and development. One finds the following types of breakout achievements: • Full recovery from failure and results that surpass all previous best achievements • Consistent improvement in results or consistent supreme results over a lengthy period • A new theory, style, discovery, scientific or technological breakthrough or invention made under pressure and with great sacrifice • Rapid change from small beginnings to extreme wealth or a global enterprise

THE BREAKOUT ACHIEVEMENT HIERARCHY AND PATHWAYS Liberty

New measures of supremacy

Empowerment

Entertainment

Service

The Breakout Achievement Zone

Present measures of supremacy Past measures of supremacy All breakout achievements have a beneficial impact. People must personally experience benefits to acknowledge that a breakout achievement has taken place. Breakout achievers are people (also as representatives of institutions) who successfully create a better world for others.

Chapter 14: Breakout achievement

75

Producing a breakout achievement is like producing an action film. It starts with a script and ends in an unforgettable climax. Breakout achievements pass through the following phases: 1. Imagining the achievement experience. The desired achievement benefits and experiences of people are imagined. The benefits that people derive from the achievement are envisioned. The mental image is then translated and described into a goal or achievement decree and statement. 2. Imagining the pitfalls, risks and challenges of the achievement pathway and identifying the controlling and risk-mitigating conditions. Critical success factors that favour the achievement of the goal are envisaged and induced. Factors that may inhibit the accrual of benefits to people are identified. 3. Imagining and mentally sequencing the pathway. A script is written to hardwire the image, the actor behaviour and the breakout experience in our minds. The neural pathways of the actors are literally seared with images and instructions for behaviour. 4. Forceful daring, working and pushing the experience. Total immersion in the roles of the script produces the peak experiences needed for success. Progress is measured and evaluated in terms of the script and negative variances are identified and corrected. 5. Climax – the peak experience during the realisation of the achievement. Seeing and experiencing the new benefits to people. A new achievement zone is demarcated. 6. Celebrating the achievement. Beneficiaries rejoice. Players and actors are rewarded and celebrated after the achievement is completed and recognised. 7. The achievement aftermath. Feelings of ecstasy and euphoria linger for a while before being replaced with feelings of longing, sadness and depression. Deliberate action, like setting a new achievement goal, must be taken to overcome this.

THE BREAKOUT ACHIEVEMENT LIFE CYCLE AND ACHIEVEMENT ZONE Breakout zone

Imagined outcome

Imagined risks and pitfalls

Imagined pathway

Forceful daring and work

Achievement climax

Celebration

Aftermath

The preconditions for a successful breakout achievement are the following: 1. A lucid, exciting, mentally hardwired image of the experience and outcome. A clear mental image or picture of the desired experience and outcome must be imagined and seared into the neural pathways of the actor or actors. 2. Creative pathway script. A script covering the full play (pathway of the script), actors and roles must be written and learnt. 3. Hard work, forceful daring and risk taking. Constraints and resistance factors must be identified and destroyed or removed. 76

Talent Management

4. Essential leverage. Talent and resources must be identified and optimally deployed. 5. Perseverance and commitment to success. Ambition, motivation and inspiration must flow in abundance. 6. Focus. The desired outcome and the scripted pathway must dominate all thinking and behaviour.

The dynamics of breakout achievement in action Any individual, organisation (family, team or institution) or society can produce breakout achievements with lasting benefits when the following six conditions prevail: • Clarified truest interest - pursuit of a vision and breakout achievements • Optimal leverage of talent power (potency - individual competitiveness and skills intelligences) backed by a wide and deep-seated understanding and appreciation of talent and talent management • Incessant inspiration from a vital inner circle • Positive reinforcement and pressure to perform from a vital inner circle driving self-fulfilment in terms of identity, talent expression, prosperity, and emotional, physical and spiritual wellness • Motivation through a process of objective and target setting, measurement and incentives in a culture of achievement in the society • A culture of achievement - respect and passion (within a society) for great achievement, selffulfilment, talent development and talent preservation • A symbiotic relationship between the ruling environmental force fields that provide momentum and victories. Some of the greatest achievements in human history were produced under extreme physical duress, and mental and emotional pressure. Sometimes, the best talents around become fallen idols or disappear from public view as a result of these influences. We can illustrate the working of these influences and conditions by means of a few examples.

ACHIEVEMENT BY THE INDIVIDUAL Ambitious individual performers or masters apply their imagination to visualise a completed work or deed long before starting work on it. Performers or masters imagine an achievement goal to give expression to their natural talent and ambition. They select sponsors and mentors as sources of inspiration. They envisage a programme of work and its execution. As the talented performer or master progresses with the work or deed, adjustments and corrections are made to ensure the beauty, attractiveness and value of the final product or outcome. The performer or master also selects materials that will withstand the corrosive impact of the elements and have a long life so that coming generations will also find solace and excitement in the beauty of the product. During the creation of the work, the performer or master thinks about conserving the exposure and enjoyment of the product and aspires to have it placed in a museum or place of safety for the benefit of coming generations. The many sculptures and works of art of Michelangelo and masters of lesser fame have lasted many centuries not by default, but by design. Chapter 14: Breakout achievement

77

Examples of powerful individual breakout achievement behaviour can be observed in the success stories involving Steve Jobs. The life story of the founder of Apple Computer is filled with breakout achievements. Every time he switched his intuition and imagination on to “action mode”, extraordinary things happened in his team and companies. Market behaviour changed when he and his team moved into action. The Apple 11 was the first desktop computer conceived and sent into the world to be used by ordinary people, and to empower them. It was soon followed by the Macintosh, I-Mac and iPod. During a spell of semi-retirement, Steve Jobs envisaged and created Pixar, a company that has since its inception created six blockbuster movies using computeranimation technology. He and his team conceptualised the iPod, which changed the music-listening habits of millions. These breakout achievements all reflected certain characteristics and a particular set of behaviours.

ACHIEVEMENT BY A MOVEMENT OR TEAM In the case of movements and sports teams, the leaders, team owners and coaches pursue a goal and strategy for victory and dominance. They build a plan for the season’s campaign. They build competitiveness and dominance by recruiting and fielding talented star performers and masters who can conquer the opposition. They optimise talent and skill building by using specialised trainers and training routines. They counter the game plans of the opposition with the creative positioning and deployment of players. They ensure team fitness, integration and cohesion through discipline. They inspire players, compensate them well and ensure that product endorsements add incentive and publicity. They maximise lasting or optimal player availability, wellness and fitness with special preventative and recuperation programmes. Top teams invest in the future of their players even after retirement. They attract loyal and enthusiastic fans and supporters with team gear and inspiring events and shows. Powerful movement breakout achievement behaviour can be observed in the recent success stories of two political movements. The ANC (African National Congress) envisaged a society in which all people are free and have equal rights. The struggle for freedom and against apartheid, deprivation and oppression lasted more than eighty years and is well documented. In 1994, the ANC came into power as the new government of South Africa. This was a breakout achievement. One of the leaders of this movement, Nelson Mandela, became the first black president in South Africa’s history. He enjoys the respect of millions of people and hundreds of governments all over the world. Since 1987, Hamas, a political movement of the Palestinian people, has pursued the goal of eradicating the Jewish state of Israel. The movement sacrificed and took many lives during the struggle process. In January 2006, the movement unexpectedly won 76 of the 132 seats in the Palestinian parliament during a general election for a democracy and was faced with finding a solution to govern people who had unexpectedly voted it into power.

ACHIEVEMENT BY AN ORGANISATION In the case of organisations, the founders, owners and shareholders go through a process of envisioning and creating identity, branding and business intent. They imagine and formulate a goal (e.g. becoming the lowest-cost producer, most profitable manufacturer or industry leader). They develop a strategic plan that sets out how the goal will be achieved. They pursue their goal and remain competitive by ensuring that they employ ambitious performers and masters with appropriate talent to design and offer products that are attractive and useful to clients and customers. They ensure cultural integration and synergy through discipline. They address risks and optimise productivity and profitability through objectives, systems, structures and policies. 78

Talent Management

They counter the influences of ageing products and processes through innovation and investment in new designs, technologies, markets and industries. They introduce employee and buyer incentive schemes to push back employee and client resistance, exhaustion, burnout and complacency. They get involved in conservation and preservation through donations and advocate a philosophy of longevity and sustainable total wellness in their organisations.

Examples of modern-day, institutional breakout achievement WAL-MART Wal-Mart is a prime example of breakout achievement in service delivery in general merchandising. The spectacular growth in the sales of the company over a period of twenty years since 1985 is unprecedented. In 1985, worldwide sales of Wal-Mart goods generated $8,4 billion. In 1995, sales reached $93,6 billion and, in 2004, they totalled more than $288 billion – a new global record for annual sales by a company which employed 1,7 million people (Corey Hajim, Fortune Magazine, 27 June 2005: 45). It leaped from obscurity in the global industry rankings to the overall Fortune Global 500 first place in under ten years. It rocketed from 12th place in the Fortune Global 500 rankings in 1994 (Fortune Magazine, Global 500, ‘The World’s Largest Corporations’, 7 August 1995) with sales of $83 billion and 600 000 employees to first place for the first time in the 2003 overall Fortune Global 500 rankings, with sales of $245 billion and 1,3 million employees (Fortune Magazine, Global 500, ‘The World’s Largest Corporations’, 25 July 2005). Wall-Mart operates 3 700 stores in the US and plans to increase its employment in China from 30 000 at present to 150 000 over the next five years. It started doing business in China twelve years ago and currently operates 56 stores in that country.

TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION For the first time in its history, Toyota Motor Corporation relegated Ford Motor to third place in the Fortune Global 500 Motor and Parts rankings in 2004 and came just short of beating General Motors. It turned out profits of $10,8 billion – the highest in the industry – on sales of $172 billion with 265 000 employees. Profits of $10 billion more than doubled those of Nissan Motor, its closest rival in industry profitability (Fortune Magazine, Global 500, ‘The World’s Largest Corporations’, 25 July 2005).

HONDA MOTOR Honda had sales of $80,4 billion in 2004 compared with $35,7 billion in 1993. It beat Nissan Motor in the Fortune Global 500 rankings. Nissan recorded sales of $79,8 billion. Honda became the sixth-largest auto manufacturer in the world. The magnitude of the achievement lies in the fact that Honda was originally a motorcycle manufacturer that turned to car manufacturing in 1963. Honda increased its workforce from 91 000 to 137 000, that is, by more than 50% in the period 1993 to 2004. Rival car manufacturers at the top of the industry rankings all had to lay off employees during the past ten years (Fortune Magazine, Global 500, ‘The World’s Largest Corporations’, 25 July 2005). Many of the breakout achievements of the past were rated as such following the reaction of the masses and the emotive impact these companies had on society. Some achievements were rated as “breakout” based on feelings evoked by deeds of compassion, beauty, sacrifice and meaning. Some achievements were rated as “breakout” on the basis of exciting, measurable physical prowess such as running speed and points, or goal-scoring capacity. Others were based on exciting mental Chapter 14: Breakout achievement

79

and spiritual creativity or toughness. There are societies in the world in which the impact of a great deed or achievement on the psyche of the society has lasted for many centuries. An example is the people of the town of Florence who attended the procession and public unveiling of Michelangelo’s sculpture of David in 1504 and who were so inspired by the event that it gave rise to an economic revival that expanded across Italy. Today this sculpture still attracts and inspires more than a million tourists annually. Breakout achievement has always been an extraordinary deed, accomplishment or behaviour that has resulted in a situation that frees, inspires and challenges people to pursue new experiential paths and destinations of fulfilment, similar to a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon, fluttering its wings and then ascending into flight. The words of Nelson Mandela illustrate a breakout achievement life cycle in full: “When I walked out of prison that was my mission – to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor both. Some say that has now been achieved. But I know that is not the case. The truth is that we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free, the right not to be oppressed. We have not taken the final step of our journey – but the first step on a longer and even more difficult road. For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. The true test of our devotion to freedom is just beginning” (quoted in Gordon Brown’s speech at the annual UNICEF lecture, 29 June 2005). Breakout achievements are phenomena that derive their distinction from their arousal of public attention and interest and perceived public benefit (fulfilled aspirations). Breakout achievements excite and inspire people. Public attention and interest refer to the intensity of publicity and the number of eyes, ears, hearts and minds aroused and captivated by the spectacle and extent of the achievement. Public benefit refers to the quantum of mental, spiritual and material wellness people perceive they may derive from the achievement. Breakout achievements in a society manifest themselves in a universe of four achievement territories formed by public attention and benefit.

ACHIEVEMENT MATRIX

PERCEIVED PUBLIC BENEFITS

HIGH

THE EMPOWERMENT ACHIEVEMENT TERRITORY

THE LIBERATION ACHIEVEMENT TERRITORY

• New scientific discoveries • New technologies • Mobility/Transport • Education • Training • Product inventions • Process inventions

• Spiritual liberation victories • Political liberation victories • Recognition of human rights • Destruction of suppressive orders • Eradication of poverty • Freedom from deprivation • Achievement of equity

LOW

PUBLIC ATTENTION AND INTEREST

HIGH

THE SERVICE ACHIEVEMENT TERRITORY

THE ENTERTAINMENT ACHIEVEMENT TERRITORY

• Providing access to services •Satisfying basic needs • Delivery of services • Convenience • Safety • Security

• Beauty • Passion • Excitement • Escapism • Inspiration • Leisure

LOW

80

Talent Management

The achievement matrix The four achievement territories are liberation, empowerment, entertainment and service achievement – in order of prominence. The four territories combine to form an achievement landscape which can be displayed on an achievement matrix, as reflected on p. 80.

Rating the importance of achievement The importance of achievements in societies and the relative prominence of the four dominant achievement territories are determined by factors such as the level of satisfaction of public need, public consciousness, prevailing culture, investment in and the experience of talent and effort, the value and benefit impact, its complexity and the inertia associated with the achievement. • Public need refers to the satisfaction of aspirations in respect of human rights, that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” and have a right to self-fulfilment. • Public consciousness refers to an informed public and the breadth and depth of the breakout in terms of the number and type of people impacted and societies touched by the achievement. • Culture refers to the ideals, values, habits, racial mixture and languages embedded in the neural pathways of a society. • Talent and effort refer to the perceived mental and physical skills and efforts that went into the achievement, and the number of people involved in driving the achievement. • Value impact refers to the lasting inspirational, entertainment, economic and social benefits people derived from the breakthrough. • Complexity refers to the various systems of capabilities, structures and paradigms (neural pathways) that were challenged and the intelligence, wisdom and creativity that had to be applied in getting to a breakthrough. • Inertia refers to the rejections and resistances to progress and the competition experienced from people, rules, systems and resources in moving forward.

The four breakout achievement territories The four breakout achievement territories are described in a universal context. Every society owns and displays its own unique territorial footprint and order of prominence of achievements, depending on prevailing political, social and economic conditions.

LIBERATION BREAKOUT ACHIEVEMENTS These are profound, positive breakouts from negative or undesirable socioeconomic or political situations involving the public. Liberation breakout achievements form a new achievement zone as people are liberated from sources and situations of captivity, fear, oppression, dependency and poverty. An improvement betters and inspires the lives of millions and is so significant and favourable that it receives worldwide public recognition and acclaim. This recognition and acclaim derive from public respect for victory linked to prolonged sacrifice and hardship. The liberators experience strong resistance and the liberation is complex and challenging. Examples of this type Chapter 14: Breakout achievement

81

of breakout achievement were the banning of the slave trade and the freeing of slaves; the breaking down of the Berlin Wall and the stemming of the influence of communism; the inspired leadership and suffering of Nelson Mandela and his comrades in the struggle against apartheid; Martin Luther King’s leadership and struggle for civil rights in the United States; Mahatma Gandhi’s spiritual, non-violent activism against poverty in India; and George Washington and Benjamin Franklin’s work in formulating the US Declaration of Independence and the founding of American democracy. Destroying the causes of extremist behaviour would be a liberation breakthrough for the civilised world. Winning the war against extreme poverty would rate as a breakout achievement. Liberation from any form of stifling and abusive economic, political or spiritual dogma ranks as a breakout achievement. Over the years, South Africa has produced a total of nine Nobel Prize laureates, the majority of them receiving recognition for advocating a liberated society – J. M. Coetzee, Literature (2003), Sydney Brenner, Physiology or Medicine (2002), Nelson Mandela, Peace (1993), F.W. de Klerk, Peace (1993), Nadine Gordimer, Literature (1991), Desmond Tutu, Peace (1984), Allan M. Cormack, Physiology or Medicine (1979), Albert Lutuli, Peace (1960), Max Theiler, Physiology or Medicine (1951) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize).

EMPOWERMENT BREAKOUT ACHIEVEMENTS These are unique, new value contributions to science and technology in a society in terms of creativity, innovation or discovery. They create a new social or scientific paradigm and order and have a lasting impact on the wellness, capacity, values, beliefs and behaviour of societies around the world. Empowerment breakout achievements form a new achievement zone because their discovery, innovation or creation mobilises a new collection of wellness-enhancing instruments, processes and convenience for the public. Exponents of this type of breakout achievement were the original scientific contributions of scientists like Newton (Calculus, Law of Gravity); Marie Curie (Radium) and Sigmund Freud (Psychoanalysis); the investments of American banker and industrial developer J.P. Morgan; Henry Ford with the development of the mass-manufactured, petrol-driven automobile; Edison with electric light; Bell with the invention of the fixed-line telephone; and Bill Gates with the popularisation of the personal computer and desktop computer operating software. Millions worldwide are currently working on personal computers and are communicating via the Internet as a result of Microsoft’s software development breakthroughs. The development of the cellular phone represents an empowerment breakthrough of great significance, as more than two billion people had access to mobile electronic communication in 2004, whereas none had such access in 1964. In 2004, more than 600 million cell phones were sold – six times the number of PCs and laptops. Cell phones are fast becoming the most exciting new entertainment system of the future (Erica Brown, ‘Coming Soon to a Tiny Screen to You’, Forbes Global, 6 June 2005: 42). The Google Internet search engine developed by Larry Page and Sergey Brin rates as another great empowerment breakout achievement, as it connects millions of Internet users to the knowledge pockets and libraries of the world.

ENTERTAINMENT BREAKOUT ACHIEVEMENTS These are profound, positive breakouts from established norms, standards, records or previous best achievements in entertainment. People set new standards or records while continuing to deliver unique, consistent and sustained high performance or excellence in entertainment over a period of time. Such an individual, team or institution reflects relentless and consistent 82

Talent Management

commitment, talent, skills, discipline and focus. Entertainment breakout achievements form a new achievement zone as victories or performances capture global public attention and provide entertainment to millions. Entertainment breakout achievements establish new paradigms and competitive baselines for professional and amateur competitors and goals for public aspiration. The achievements are so significant and interesting that they attract public recognition and acclaim across societies. Such recognition and acclaim derive from public respect for talent, mastery, competitiveness, sacrifice, victory, modesty and ethical behaviour. Examples of breakout achievements in entertainment in recent times are the following: • The rise to Forbes Magazine’s number one celebrity spot by the black female talk-show host, Oprah Winfrey, with her show reaching 112 countries and 30 million US viewers weekly and generating an income of $225 million in 2004. In 2006, she occupied the third spot on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. • The sustained success of golfer, Tiger Woods, who won four Masters Golf Tournaments and became the world’s highest-paid athlete, earning $87 million in 2004. In 2006, Tiger was ranked fifth on the Forbes Celebrity 100 with earnings of $90 million. • The many race victories and unprecedented seven world championships of Formula One racing driver, Michael Schumacher, who earned $60 million in 2004. In 2006, Michael was ranked thirtieth on the Forbes Celebrity 100 with earnings of $58 million. • The unprecedented and unbroken run of seven Tour de France victories by cyclist, Lance Armstrong, who earned $28 million as an athlete in 2004. • The successes of Madonna, who has had more number one singles than The Beatles and Elvis Presley. She has appeared in sixteen films, produced fourteen albums, held five sell-out concerts, and boasts more than 100 million records sold. She has won many Grammy Awards, as well as a Golden Globe for the musical Evita and has earned between $40 million and $50 million a year since 1993. • The dominance of Valentino Rossi in world motorcycle racing, who has won seven world championships after winning his first at the unprecedented age of 20, in 1999. Valentino Rossi is the youngest rider ever to win the world title in all three classes. At the age of 22, Rossi became the last true world champion of the 500cc class and reached his goal of winning in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc classes. In 2002, he was the first rider ever, at the young age of 23, to win the MotoGP class. He has 77 Grand Prix victories from 153 starts (www.rossifiles.com). These rate as entertainment breakout achievements, as publicity efforts and television transmissions in some cases attracted the attention of billions. On another plane of contest, some recent achievements by South Africans made history: • The unbeaten world championship campaign and crowning of the Springboks as world champions in 1995 just after democratisation and the team’s return to international competition after years of isolation • South Africa winning the bid to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup and being the first African nation to do so • Charlize Theron, the first South African actress to receive an Oscar for her role in Monster Chapter 14: Breakout achievement

83

• Tsotsi, a film about crime in South Africa, winning South Africa’s first Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category

SERVICE BREAKOUT ACHIEVEMENTS These are profound, positive departures from established norms, standards, records or previous best achievements in service delivery to the public and the setting of new standards or records, as well as a unique continuation of consistent and sustained high performance or excellence over a lengthy period by an individual, team or institution. Service breakout achievements reflect unique, relentless and consistent commitment to talent, skills, discipline and focus on the client. Key features of this type of achievement are sustained growth, longevity, continuity and public satisfaction amidst fluctuating market and industry conditions. The survival and sustained organisational and market capitalisation growth of Wal-Mart, General Electric and Microsoft rank amongst the great service breakthrough achievements in history. The foregoing classification and ordering of breakout achievements provide a framework for categorising the relevance and importance of achievements. They are useful for the debate on who should be classified as breakout achievers, as they help identify the causes of achievement breakthroughs and provide a framework for the future classification of achievements, campaigns, measurement and judgements. Having clarified the nature of breakout achievements, we can explore which factors led to them, for that is where the challenge and benefit lie for both the individual and institutions. Breakout achievements reflect the progressiveness of a society. In the following chapters we will investigate the drivers and measurement of breakout achievement. Breakout achievement is the result of public recognition for achievements in liberation, empowerment, service and entertainment. Here are some of the measures of breakout achievements:

MEASURING LIBERATION BREAKOUT ACHIEVEMENTS Liberation achievements enhance the political and spiritual freedom of people. They liberate them politically and spiritually and inspire emotional, spiritual, material and physical wellness. The metrics used to measure these achievements are public satisfaction and media attention, money (investment in the wellness of people), a positive impact on the public in terms of emotional, spiritual, material and physical wellness, investments in education, security, safety, health, religious and political freedom and access to protective and safety services, leisure, health services, education and communication. Liberation breakout achievements experienced by the public derive from the dramatic reduction in feelings of fear and anxiety and from a strengthening of feelings of personal wellness, happiness, safety, security and freedom. For activists and politicians, breakout achievements derive from sharp increases in personal popularity and fame, political and labour stability, franchise support and re-election.

84

Talent Management

MEASURING EMPOWERMENT ACHIEVEMENTS Empowerment breakout achievements empower and inspire the public and enhance its individual competitiveness and capacity to perform and achieve. The performance metrics used are public satisfaction, voter support, media attention, money (investment in the economy and infrastructure), and public wellness in terms of employment, transport, communication, prosperity, health and access to services such as hospitals, fresh water, electricity and waste removal. The number of users, sales and the international footprint of the empowerment solution are also used as indicators. Empowerment breakout achievements experienced by the public derive from discoveries, innovations and projects that enhance public capacity and the ability to perform. They induce dramatic reductions in the cost of living. They enhance learning, skills, mobility, communication, convenience and access to services. For inventors and scientists, breakout achievements derive from sharp increases in self-fulfilment, wealth, publicity, popularity and fame, patents and royalties, professional and academic recognition and growth in professional and academic following.

MEASURING ENTERTAINMENT BREAKOUT ACHIEVEMENTS Entertainment breakout achievements provide more entertainment, excitement, enjoyment, fun and diversions that inspire the public. The metrics used are public enthusiasm and media attention, spectator attendance, ticket sales, competition results, scores, victories, records, money (celebrity and performer income), magazine cover features, press clippings, Web presence, TV or radio hits, and public discretionary expenditure on entertainment, e.g. on sport, music, films, tours, exciting experiences, games, books and magazines. Entertainment breakout achievements experienced by the public derive from creative breakthroughs and innovations that induce dramatic enhancements in experiences of excitement and fun and a dramatic lowering of entertainment costs. The sudden arrival on the scene of a very talented performer or sports team is also experienced as a breakout achievement. For entertainers, breakout achievements derive from trophies, awards, personal recognition, fans, supporters, self-fulfilment and the quantum growth and consistency of income and investment yields from investing their time and energy in entertainment. For investors, breakout achievements derive from the quantum growth and consistency of income and investment yields from investing funds in entertainment. Since the inception of the Olympic Games in 1896, the world has witnessed many great achievements by individuals and teams in this periodic sporting spectacle. The world has also seen a constant improvement in achievements. The winning times and margins in some of the well-known Olympic events have in some cases improved by as much as 20% since the first Games were held. The following graph reflects a gradual improvement in winning times for the men’s 100 metre sprint. The winning time of 9,95 by gold medallist, James Hines, in the 1968 Mexico City Games stands out as a breakout achievement, as it broke the magical 10-second barrier. The new record stood unbeaten for several years. He set a new challenge and target for subsequent competitors.

Chapter 14: Breakout achievement

85

OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL TIMES - MEN 100 METRES SECONDS

12 11

11

11.2 10.8 10.8 10.8

10.6

10.8

10.79 10.38 10.3 10.3

10.62

10.32

10.25 10.06 9.95 10.14 10.06 9.99

9.5 1896 1900 1904 1906 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1 968 1972 1976 1980 1984

YEAR OF GAMES

The breakout achievement was (at the time) most probably attributed to better athletic talent, improved conditioning techniques, better preparation, better equipment, better nutrition, better conditions and higher levels of aspiration, inspiration, drive and confidence. Several factors worked together to bring about this great feat.

MEASURING SERVICE BREAKOUT ACHIEVEMENTS Service breakout achievements have an immediate and lasting beneficial impact on the availability of consumable and durable goods and services to the public. Accessibility, quality, cost and supply are important criteria. The service metrics used in respect of buyers or consumers are public satisfaction and media attention, consumer satisfaction, discretionary expenditure on services, e.g. prizes, convenience shopping, banking, entertainment, food, clothing, housing and private education and transport. The metrics used in respect of suppliers are financials like sales, profits, share price, market share, clients, choice, fashion and international footprint.

A lesson in institutional breakout achievement Analysts predicted that Toyota Motor Corporation would overtake top-ranking General Motors Corporation in global sales volume in 2006 with growth driven by new hybrid models. This happened a year later, when in the period January – March 2007 Toyota sold more cars than General Motors for the first time in history. “Toyota’s global sales rose 9.2% to a record 2,35 million vehicles. Sales at GM, the world’s largest car maker for 76 years, gained 3% to 2,26 million vehicles” (’Toyota Leave GM eating in the dust in race for leading maker’, Business Day, 25 April 2007). It was expected that Toyota’s annual sales would rise to 9,34 million and production to 9,42 million in 2007. The Toyota Prius, a new hybrid model, played a significant role in this breakout achievement. Toyota engineered this breakout achievement in institutional and market leadership through a unique blending of talent management, innovation, product development, new technology hybrid gas/electric technology), production and marketing strategy. The success story of the Japanese Toyota Motor Company, written by Alex Taylor III, provides valuable lessons in the dynamics of institutional breakout achievement behaviour (‘The Birth of the Prius’, Fortune Magazine, 6 March 2006: 66).

86

Talent Management

IMAGINING THE BREAKOUT ZONE Intuitive leadership and inspirational players Eiji Toyoda, Toyota’s chairman and patriarch of its ruling family, expressed concern about the future of the automobile in 1993. Yoshiro Kimbara, then executive vice-president in charge of R&D, heard the rumblings and initiated project G21 (Global 21st Century) to develop a new, small car that could be sold worldwide. He set two goals – to develop new production methods and to wring better fuel economy from the traditional combustion engine. His target was 47,5 miles per gallon, just over 50% better than the Corolla engine was giving at the time. The project was based on the assumption that higher oil prices and a growing middle class around the world would create a need for a new car that was both roomy and fuel-efficient. Watanabe, President of TMC, supported the G21 initiative and set a goal for the company to develop a small car with better fuel economy that could be sold worldwide. He wanted to continue Toyota’s explosive growth of the past five years in which worldwide production rose by nearly 50%. He expected Toyota to sell one million hybrids a year early in the next decade. His strategy for this was to improve production engineering and to develop better power technology, to make hybrids more affordable for consumers.

MAKING IT HAPPEN “Toyota is capable of breaking its own rules when it needs to. In its rush to bring the Prius to market, it abandoned its traditional consensus management, untraditionally set targets and enforced deadlines that were considered unattainable by many.” Executive vice-president, Akihiro Wada, searched for an engineer with the right blend of experience and open-mindedness and selected Takeshi Uchiyamada, a serious and hardworking expert in sound and noise control as chief engineer responsible for a product that would go into production rapidly. Akihiro Wada insisted that the G21 needed a mileage breakthrough and recommended a hybrid engine. In Uchiyamada’s first plan, he envisaged that fuel efficiency could be boosted by 50%. That was, however, not good enough for Wada. He ordered that the car be ready for the 1995 Tokyo Motor Show (then 12 months away) and that the fuel economy improvement had to better the Corola’s consumption by 100%. Wada said: “Don’t settle for anything less than a 100% improvement. Otherwise competitors will catch up quickly.” A target was set to begin production at the end of 1998. President Hiroshi Okuda revised this target and set a new production target for a year earlier – December 1997. Uchiyamada’s team had to develop the car, hybrid power train and all, in only 24 months – about two-thirds of the time usually required for a conventional vehicle. During this time, the team had to sort out problems with starting, heating batteries and design. More than 1 000 Toyota engineers worked on the Prius and development costs exceeded $1 billion. Toyota unveiled the Prius in Japan in October 1997, two months ahead of schedule, and it went on sale in December 1997. In 1999, the first cars were launched in California to test the American market. Feedback was given to the team and changes were made to suit local needs. Orders were invited via the Internet. In July 2000, the Prius made its debut in the US and Chapter 14: Breakout achievement

87

caught on immediately, with higher than expected sales. Buyers were excited about the improved fuel economy, lower emissions (80% lower) advanced technology and value retention (retaining 57% of its value after three years). Fuel consumption was measured at 66 miles per gallon – the 100% mileage improvement Wada had asked for. Sales really took off when celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz bought these cars in 2001, and five cars appeared at the Oscars with celebrities. A second-generation Prius was launched in 2003 and the new model became a fashion statement. People waited months for it. Buyers preferred to buy rather than lease the cars. US sales doubled in 2004 to 53 991, and almost doubled again to 107 897 in 2005. The Prius was described as the hottest car Toyota Marketing had ever had in the US. The Prius is the first vehicle since 1924 to produce a serious alternative to the internal combustion engine. “The Prius is an automotive landmark; a car for the future, designed for a world of scarce oil and surplus greenhouse gases.”

DEFINING THE NEW BREAKOUT ZONE Since the success of the Prius, Toyota has relentlessly been adopting hybrid technology in more models, with the goal of offering it in every vehicle it sells. Industry specialists are in agreement that the head start that Toyota enjoys with its hybrid technology puts it in a favourable position to dominate the industry for years to come. Toyota has always been known as a fast follower, but had never been much of a pioneer. The Prius changed Toyota’s reputation and industry status.

The causes of breakout achievements 1. INSPIRATIONAL PLAYERS All successful employers are stalking men who will do the unusual, men who think, men who attract attention by performing more than is expected of them (Charles Schwab). Inspirational players are the driving force behind breakout teams and achievements. They put breakout principles and behaviour in place. They are powerful people with powerful ideas. They are agents within an organisation who start the play by establishing the driving purpose. • The impact of inspirational players on the business world is clearly visible in the turnaround of Apple Computer in 1997/ 998 when Steve Jobs took over as interim CEO. He arrested Apple from a death spiral and, with a new team and new board, he put it on a growth path again. Within a year, the newly assembled team turned Apple around from a loss of $1 billion on revenues of $7 billion to a profit of $309 million on revenues of $5,9 billion. It slashed the product lines from 15 to four. It rationalised 22 marketing teams into four company-wide departments for marketing, sales, manufacturing and finance. It designed, engineered and launched the iMac and sold 278 000 within six weeks, making it one of the hottest computer launches in history. The rest of Apple’s history blazes with breakout achievements (David Kirkpatrick, Fortune Magazine, 9 November 1998: 44). • The dream to make the Atlanta Braves the best team in the world originated with Ted Turner, but the key inspirational players who made it happen – both strategically and operationally – were its president, Stan Kasten, and general manager, John Schuerbolz.

88

Talent Management

• The dream to win and retain the America’s Cup for New Zealand originated with Michael Fay, but the inspirational people who made it happen were Peter Blake, Alan Sefton, Russel Coutts, Tom Schnackenberg, Brad Butterworth, and others. • South Africa also has its own inspiring story of inspirational players forming a great breakout team. A story written in 2005 by Maya Fisher-French for Maverick, a South African magazine in the mould of Fortune Magazine, reveals how a band of three young friends refocused and redefined merchant banking, insurance, retail banking and medical care in South Africa. The three grew a penniless startup to a financial group, one of the big four, with R462 billion in assets and 35 000 employees, in less than thirty years. The story has it that G.T. Ferreira spotted an opportunity for structured finance transactions and formed the company RCI with Pat Goss, and Laurie Dippenaar in 1977. The company was worth R10 000 when it opened offices in downtown Johannesburg. Three months later, Paul Harris joined the team and replaced Pat Goss who had to leave to run the family business. In 1985, after eight years in business, the troika bought a bank from the Rupert family and Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) came into the fold. In 1992, RMB acquired a poorly performing Momentum Life from Remgro and Volkskas and turned it around. It acquired First National Bank (FNB) from Anglo American, turned it around and established First Rand in 1998. Today, the group has 650 branches nationwide and had headline earnings of R7,6 billion in 2005 (Maya Fisher-French, ‘Three Men and Their Incidental Empire’, Maverick, 1 December 2005). Inspirational players are role models who provide benchmarks for others to emulate and follow. They recruit, mentor and develop people, providing succession within the organisation. Inspirational players are catalysts for providing the key sense of belonging, community or a family-like environment. They inspire trust in themselves, others and the organisation. They are actively involved in making their own direct contributions, exemplifying perfection. Some inspirational players become icons of their sport and of society as a whole – Franz Beckenbauer was German soccer, Michael Jordan personified basketball. Breakout achievement teams never allow individuals to overshadow their brand. Inspirational players extend, rather than transcend, the inspirational dream. “You grow the players you already have into champions or you go out and recruit champion-caliber people and bring them onto the team” (Maxwell – The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player).

2. A FRESH COMBINATION OF TALENT - an all-new team is more likely to crack a breakout achievement and become a breakout team A breakout team is typically an all-new team comprising inspirational players with the right talent. In an all-new team, every member starts afresh, without baggage. Breakout teams are fragile. It is the distinct ambition, talent and contribution of every member, the dream and team members’ trust in one another’s abilities and integrity that create the synergy, culture and potency that produce a breakout team. When members resign, retire, get replaced or injured, the team loses critical elements of its potency and synergy. Succession management helps to replace members of a team, but the culture and chemistry that caused breakout is lost. Breakout teams have real potency until they realise their dream or become disillusioned. Beyond this potency period, the team as such comes apart, but the legacy may live on. Breakout teams are not sustainable. The biggest causes of disbandment are ageing members, injuries, suppressed ambition, soured relationships, distrust, disillusionment and individual self-destruction. Forming a totally new team with new inspirational members starts a new breakout achievement cycle. Chapter 14: Breakout achievement

89

• Steve Jobs swiftly assembled a sympathetic core group of veterans from his other company, Next, and constituted a new board after persuading most of the former board members to quit. He appointed a six-person board and retained only two members of the former board. Some of them were friends that ran other successful companies (David Kirkpatrick, Fortune Magazine, 9 November 1998: 44). • The Springbok rugby team of 1995, the Australian rugby team of 1999 and the England rugby team of 2003 which won the Rugby World Cup, were fresh combinations.

3. CLARITY OF PURPOSE - members of breakout teams know and understand the goal According to Gilson et al (2001), clarity of purpose is essential for breakout success and has three building blocks: • The inspirational dream – a mental image of an ideal state or destiny that provides meaning – collective importance and recognition to the people who work in the organisation. It is the basis for dignity, self-esteem and self-worth. • The greatest imaginable challenge – being the best that the team can be. The dream in action. It is the most demanding and rewarding tangible achievement that can be imagined for the organisation, as related to the organisation’s unique context, circumstances and aspirations. It provides focus and direction to participants, must be in harmony with the inspirational dream and must evolve and be renewed once that has been achieved, in order to sustain its purpose. • The focus – concentration of energy on actions necessary to achieve the team’s purpose. It provides clear direction and interest for participants. Focus involves identifying specific actions to be undertaken, rather than targeting the envisaged end result. The fewer the actions, the better. Focus clarifies priorities and aligns everyday tasks.

4. LESSONS FROM PEAK EXPERIENCES - breakout teams learn to achieve Breakout teams crack breakout achievements by building on peak experiences. They create opportunities for peak experiences and use lessons learnt to build breakout achievements. They usually have a finite period of peak achievement, and form, bond and grow together as a group through peak experiences. Members familiarise themselves with the goals and roles of the team and the individuals in it. They engage as a group of friends and share work as a team to achieve the goals of the team. They test their strengths, fail and thus learn what their limits are. They work hard and efficiently to shift their limits and goals. They achieve their dream or goal and are either fulfilled or disillusioned. They fragment and disband as a group. Members withdraw, fall out or are replaced. The team disbands and a new team is formed. • The Beatles were one of the most successful teams of all time. Their recording career only lasted from 1962 to 1970, but, during that period, they were the most successful global entertainment phenomenon. More than 30 years after the team broke up, their sales were bigger than ever. They have sold more records in the past five years than in the whole of their existence. They stand alongside Disney, McDonalds and Nike as one of the great brands. This group disbanded.

90

Talent Management

• The Ferrari Formula One racing team consisting of kingpin driver, Schumacher, and his technical team won seven world championships in the period 1997 to 2004, and then failed miserably in the eighth year of competition. This record of achievements will most likely remain unbroken for several decades. LIFE CYCLE OF A BREAKOUT TEAM Formation

Engagement

Breakout achievement

Disbandment

Coming together of a group of ambitious and talented individuals. Clarification of the unifying cause, goals and individual personas, talents, strengths and roles.

Engagement - taking personal ownership of the dream and goals. Experiencing progress and failure. Learning and adjusting.

Achieving the dream or goal. Supremacy. Brilliance. Discovery. Record production, record sales, record profits, record growth. Recognition and celebration.

Fulfilment or disillusionment. Members, managers or coaches split away and are replaced. New dreams and goals are set and pursued.

5. IDENTITY Breakout teams have distinctive, differentiating brands, logos, colours and equipment. They share their brand with their supporters.

6. TEAM CULTURE - breakout teams have unique cultures Members of breakout teams have equal status regardless of position, pay, stature, education and talent. Teams are ruined if lines of authority are brought into play. As soon as structure is enforced, the team loses one aspect of its creativity, namely how it will organise and execute itself. When you're managing a team, pay attention to the quiet ones. You ignore the less visible team leaders at your peril. You need to make a conscious effort to recognise everyone's contributions to a team, not just focus on the extroverts, leaders and creators.

7. CODES OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT - breakout teams have rules •

Behaviour is focused on a clear vision or goal and the team focus is set by objectives.

•

Breakout teams function with flat structures and members work where needed.

•

Breakout teams do things that matter. Relevance, importance and priority are key considerations.

•

Breakout teams comprise people who are honest, real and authentic.

•

Members of breakout teams trust and respect one another.

•

Members of breakout teams listen to one another.

•

Breakout teams communicate well and incessantly.

•

Breakout team members stand up for one another. They rise and fall together.

Chapter 14: Breakout achievement

91

•

Breakout teams finish things. They complete their task and round it off.

•

Breakout teams live and experience life together. They party together, they drink and eat together, and they talk. They entertain one another’s families. Breakout teams have fun and celebrate their victories.

8. GREAT STORIES - breakout teams have great stories and they like to tell them They draw inspiration from the stories of their experiences.

9. MORAL SUPPORT People admire and support them and provide them with required resources.

10. FUTURE FOCUS - breakout teams are future-focused They look forward. They are rarely surprised. They are known for their great surveillance, vigilance, readiness and preparedness.

Examples of modern-day breakout achievers BILL GATES AND MICROSOFT •

In 1986, Bill Gates (William H. Gates III), at the age of 13, learnt about computers and software on the school computer for the first time.

•

He started a company, Traf-O-Dat, in 1971 at the age of 16 with school friend and partner Paul Allen, three years his senior. The business was too limited for them and they wanted to start something that would one day be number one in that industry. Their experience in software development in this company prepared them for the bigger world of the software business.

•

In 1975, at the age of 20, Bill and Paul established Microsoft in Albuquerque with the clear notion that computers were going to be a big, big personal tool and that, ultimately, everyone would be online. Their vision was – a computer on every desk and in every home, all running Microsoft software (’Brent Schlender, Bill Gates and Paul Allen Talk’, Fortune Magazine, 2 October 1995: 44).

•

In 1980, IBM approached Bill and Paul to develop the software and functionalities for their PC project. Gates and Allen bought Q-Dos for $50 000 from a company, Seattle Computer, and modified it to create operating software for the PC. IBM was Microsoft’s first operating system customer.

•

In 1986, at the age of 30, Bill and Paul listed Microsoft, which was then an established maker of software for personal computers. Microsoft shares were offered at $21 a share on 13 March 1986, but quickly zoomed to $35 (Andy Serwer, ‘How Bill Gates Invests His Money’, Fortune Magazine, 15 March 1999: 30). Bill Gates got $1,6 million for the shares he sold, but the market value of his retained 45% stake in Microsoft was $350 million.

92

Talent Management

At the time of listing in 1986, Microsoft’s annual sales were stated as $172 million, with a net profit of $33 million (Bro Utal, ‘Inside the Deal That Made Bill Gates $350 Million’, Fortune Magazine, 21 July 1986: 19). Microsoft’s basic business strategy was to charge a price so low that microcomputer makers could not produce the software internally for that price. •

In 1990, Bill Gates started marketing the Windows operating system that would ultimately become Microsoft’s flagship product. In 1991, his goal for Microsoft was to set the standard for the industry.

•

In 1994, he established the William H. Gates Foundation for charity work, with a gift of $106 billion. The value of the Foundation grew to $5,2 billion in 1999. In 2005, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had investments of $29 billion dedicated to fighting infectious diseases.

•

In 1995, Bill Gates had a 25% share in Microsoft, with a market value of $13,4 billion.

•

In 1999, the value of Bill Gates’s 18,5% Microsoft stockholding reached a high of $76,5 billion, making him the richest man in the world. In 2006, his personal wealth was estimated at $56 billion. He has retained the title of richest man in the world for eleven years since 1995 (Forbes Billionaires List 2006).

•

Microsoft revenues grew from $172 million in 1986 to $11 billion in 1997 and to $36 billion in 2004. Profits grew from $33 million in 1986 to $8 billion in 2004. In 2000, Microsoft employed 35 000 people, after starting with two people in 1975. In 2004, it was ranked the 127th largest corporation in the world by Fortune Magazine and it employed 57 000 employees, clearly demonstrating the power of entrepreneurs to create employment (Jerry Useem, ‘The 25 Most Powerful People in the World’, Fortune Magazine, 11 August 2003).

•

Bill Gates, said that working with smart people on new problems every day is what he enjoys most.

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY AND WARREN BUFFET (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) • Warren Buffet submitted his first tax return in 1944 when he was a newspaper boy aged 13. Forbes Magazine ranked him the second-richest man in the world in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 (Forbes Billionaires List 2006). • Financier Warren Buffet had a net worth to $52 billion in 2006, significantly narrowing the gap between him and Bill Gates (net worth estimated at $56 billion), with whom he competes in bridge tournaments. He took control of Berkshire Hathaway in his twenties. • In 2003, Fortune Magazine rated him the most powerful man in America. He was acclaimed as the world’s greatest investor (Jerry Useem, ‘The 25 Most Powerful People in the World’, Fortune Magazine, 11 August 2003). • The book value per share of the company grew from $19 in 1955 to $50 498 in 2003, representing a composite growth rate of 22,2% per annum over a 39-year period. • Investments of $8 515 million in institutions like American Express, Coca-Cola, Gillette, Washington Post and Wells Fargo increased in value to $35 387 million. Chapter 14: Breakout achievement

93

• The 11 directors each have more than $4 million of their own money invested in the company. Six of them have had a family investment interest running into billions of dollars for over 30 years. • The company is an example of honest ownership, transparency and sound corporate governance.

LAKSHMI NARAYAN MITTAL AND MITTAL STEEL (Internet: //en.wikipedia.org - Lakshmi Narayan Mittal) • Lakshmi Narayan Mittal (also known as Lakshmi Niwas Mittal) is a billionaire industrialist who was born on 15 June 1950 in Sadulpur in the Churu district of Rajasthan, India, and who resides in Kensington Palace Gardens, London, UK. He was ranked the 5th - richest man in the world with personal assets of $32 billion. In the 2006 Forbes Billionaires List, he is up from 63rd - richest in 2004, with an estimated wealth of US$25 billion. He is the richest person residing in Britain. • Mittal grew up in a poor family in Sadulpur, living with his extended family on bare concrete floors and rope beds in a house built by his grandfather. His family, from the Marwari Agarwal caste, was not prestigious. They eventually moved to Kolkata where his father, Mohan, became a partner in a steel company. Lakshmi graduated from St Xavier's College in Kolkata with a business degree in 1969. His classmates knew him as a sharp student who was good with numbers. • He branched out on his own in 1994 owing to differences with his father and brothers, taking over the international operations of the Mittal steel business. One of the key factors in the growth of LNM into a concern spreading from Mexico to Kazakhstan has been to avoid sourcing iron from the higher-cost scrap sources favoured by rivals. Another factor has been his championing of smaller steel mills, a strategy followed even since his days as a steel magnate elect in 1970s India. It was then that Mittal opened his first steel plants, in Kolkata – where he had attended university – and Bangalore. He was following in the footsteps of his father, Mohan, who had set up the Ispat steel firm in the 1950s. But where Mittal junior found the route to rewards of gargantuan proportions was in the international marketplace. • Today he is chairman and CEO of the Mittal Steel Company NV, which is the world's largest producer of steel, with assets in Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, South Africa, Poland, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, the United States, the Ukraine and other countries. He was the Fortune European Businessman of the Year for 2004.

ANTON RUPERT AND REMBRANDT (SOUTH AFRICA) (Esterhuizen & Dommisse, 2005: 24) • Anton Rupert was born in Graaff-Reinet, South Africa, on 4 October 1916 and grew up during the Depression. He started his first company in his twenties with a capital investment of £10 and built up an international enterprise, Remgro, which had a market capitalisation of $14 billion in 2002. • He was a pioneer in establishing South Africa’s footprint in the global commercial and financial markets. He was widely considered one of the greatest business leaders to be born in South Africa. He was a devoted Christian, conservationist and philanthropist who played a significant 94

Talent Management

role in dismantling apartheid in South Africa. Dr Anton Rupert founded the South African branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature. He also helped establish the Peace Parks Foundation, spending much of his time on conservation issues. He passed away in January 2006 at the age of 90. • It is estimated that the value of an investment of $160 in the original Remgro stable had grown to $4,6 million in 2002. • Forbes Magazine ranked Anton Rupert amongst the 500 richest people in the world 10 years ago. In 2004, he was ranked at number 342, with assets valued at $1,7 billion. In 2005, his son, Johan Rupert, and family were ranked at number 272, with assets of $2,3 billion.

Chapter 14: Breakout achievement

95

PART SIX TALENT CARING

The deliberate practice of preserving talent PERSONAL WELLNESS INSPIRATION BUILDING A VITAL INNER CIRCLE

CHAPTER FIFTEEN PERSONAL WELLNESS My resting heartbeat is about forty-eight and that helps with keeping calm in a race situation. If I can keep my heart rate at around 140 for the two hours of the race, it means I will not be over the limit or tense. It’s about how you pace yourself in the car. Michael Schumacher, seven times World Formula One Motor Racing Champion, as told to James Allen The whole purpose of earthly life is that man should live on all aspects of being, physically, mentally and spiritually, and until these three are functioning he is not fulfilling himself. When you live right, when your thinking is right, when the spirit, mind and body are harmonious, you will be healthy. Philosophy of Silver Birch

Talent caring is aimed at preserving the talent of people and making sure they are physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually at their peak when working and competing. The result one seeks with talent caring is sustained peak personal wellness, inspiration, engagement and value contribution. The key to successful wellness caring is an understanding of the realms of wellness and the factors that determine wellness. When we understand the realms of wellness, we can apply the means to measure wellness, and, when we understand the factors that determine wellness we can influence it.

THE REALMS OF WELLNESS Potent people travel between realms and levels of wellness all the time. When, in their view, they have attained a desired level of mental wellness, they are inclined to sense shortcomings in their physical, relational or spiritual wellness. They may then engage mentally and physically in practices that may shift them to another level or realm of wellness. Observe the behaviour of potent people – they run, walk, meditate, diet, play games, take spiritual retreats and sabbaticals. Invariably, everyone aspires to experience complete wellness in all four realms. As people evolve and sense the beneficial impact of the realms of wellness, so they realise the supremacy of spiritual wellness. Potent people move between four realms of wellness: • Physical wellness - feeling good and strong from taking care of our bodies with natural nutrition, exercise, preventative measures, natural remedies, restful sleep and relaxation • Mental wellness - clarity of mind, sharpness of memory, strong self-worth and confidence in one’s decision making and in choosing the right way forward • Relationship wellness - experiencing loving fellowships and having lasting, fulfilling relationships free from egos and complications • Spiritual wellness - this derives from harmony between mind, body and soul. It is an ability and consciousness that frees one to experience inspiring emotions and feelings stirred by compassion and things of beauty. It is a deep connection with the creations and intelligent design of nature and the universe, acknowledging the presence and power of God in our lives and preparing for the ultimate journey of the spirit.

98

Talent Management

THE BIOCHEMISTRY OF PERSONAL WELLNESS The ever-growing body of neural science and neural psychology has made it possible to better understand wellness. This knowledge can be used by millions to become and stay well and inspired. One must realise that the electrochemical processes of the brain are critical to sustained wellness, inspiration and achievement. Many scientists, philosophers and biographers have researched the chemistry of human behaviours and especially those of sustained health, achievement and success. Their motive in these pursuits has been to make the world a better, nicer and easier place to live in. If we learn from this, we can help eradicate conflict, poverty and hardship. The world of the mind and the factors that induce success and failure, illness and health have been explored extensively. Neuroscientists concentrate on the effects of childhood traumas and of drugs on people’s neurochemistry. Psychiatrists and psychologists assess people’s good and bad experiences from birth in order to solve emotional and behavioural problems through psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. Others concentrate on the effects nutrition has on neurochemistry. Still others concentrate on the effects which meditation and spirituality have on neural activity and pathways. The effects which learning, physical exercise, sports and competition have on the mind, have been mapped out. Even occurrences like mass action and crowd behaviour are explained in terms of neural stimulation. One can state with reasonable certainty that personal wellness results from appropriate exercise, nutrition, stimulation, talent use, sacrifice, experience, measurement, recognition and reward. Conversely, deprivation, fear, abuse, malnutrition, ignorance and lack of stimulation (through learning, achievement and challenge) stunt personal wellness and destroy health and feelings of achievement, joy, happiness and success. Our brain cells communicate with one another through an electromagnetic, biochemical message process. Every time we sense something, think, learn or communicate, the neurons (brain cells) in our brains send nerve impulses to billions of other brain cells. Nerve impulses (electromagnetic, biochemical messages) are fired from one neuron (brain cell) into the receptors of the receiving brain cells via chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. These are made by nerve cells from amino acids, alkaloids and vitamin and mineral co-factors drawn from various places in the body. When a neuron activates another in this way, it acts like a switch. Neurons fire in sequence and new neural paths are formed by the domino effect. Neuron activity creates the intricate memory traces or neural pathways of the mind. Peak experiences influence the release of neurotransmitters, resulting in feelings of pleasure, elation and wellbeing. Neurotransmitters and receptors profoundly affect our wakefulness, perceptiveness, moods, feelings, memory, thinking and metabolism. Dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, epinephrine (adrenalin), and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are some of the better-known neurotransmitters that affect our feelings, energy, behaviour and performance. Neurotransmitters ferry messages from one neuron to another within the brain (Nash, Time Magazine, 26 May 1997). The impact of the better-known neurotransmitters on the mind and body are reflected below: (Giannini, 2000: 7)

Chapter 15: Personal wellness

99

• Dopamine - associated with pleasure and elation, it is responsible for cognitive integration, motor activity initiation and working memory • Serotonin - associated with feelings of sadness and wellbeing, it is responsible for sleep initiation, mood modulation, pain modulation, the modulation of aggression, for controlling anxiety and for maintaining alertness • Norepinephrine - responsible for sleep maintenance, mood modulation • Epinephrine (adrenalin) - responsible for influencing the rate of metabolism, respiratory stimulation and an increase in psychomotor activity. The excitatory effects are exerted upon smooth muscle cells of the vessels that supply blood to the skin and mucous membranes • Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) - responsible for inhibitory transmission of the cortex; and functions of the cerebellum, hippocampus and limbic system. Neurotransmitter-related disorders are common. In many populations, more than 80 percent of people have some degree of neurotransmitter deficiency or imbalance. Poor diet (especially protein deficiency or malabsorption under conditions of poverty), prolonged stress (work and non-work related), genetic predisposition and some prescription drugs can contribute to neurotransmitter imbalances. The peak experiences from the following stimuli influence our neurochemistry and state of mind: • Breakout achievements - peak experiences from breakout achievements induce and modify neurotransmitter and receptor activity. Feelings of excitement and ecstasy are inspired by the accomplishment of strenuous or challenging, and sometimes dangerous, tasks, like climbing a high mountain peak or bungee-jumping off a bridge or mountain, or seeking victory in a major competition. The prospect of a breakout achievement is highly inspirational. Goals that will result in breakout achievement cause high levels of anticipation and inspiration. Aspirations cause neural activity that leads to cognitive dissonance or tension in the neural pathways. The neural activity continues until equilibrium is gained. Tension relief follows upon equilibrium. Aspirations are those desires for ownership and achievement which one holds dear. • Victory - peak experiences from victories (however small) inspire one and create new expectations and desires that induce the further pursuit of achievement. • Participation – togetherness brings happiness, and celebrations in groups inspire people. Seeing, hearing and participating in joyful occasions and events of celebration (birthdays, Christmases or New Year’s parties) activate and load new neural pathways with love, joy and expectation. People who participate in rallies and non-violent activism experience peak emotional stimulation during these events. Sporting events and intense competitions have rousing effects on spectators. Rave parties with special music and light effects cause similar sensations. People have peak spiritual experiences in religious groups during meditation, prayer and the singing of hymns – all of which inspire feelings of happiness and contentment. • Learning - learning new knowledge and skills activates and loads new neural pathways, thus enabling one to be more knowledgeable or skilful. The neural activity induced by learning can cause feelings of great joy and alleviate stress and anxiety.

100

Talent Management

• Selection - becoming part of a team or the top structure of an organisation through selection carries with it a transfer of trust, responsibility and accountability. The neural impact of this transfer is immense, causing excitement, doubt and fear at the same time. • Good news - sensing (seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling) images of human wellness and happy tidings induces inspiration. News and visuals of destruction and suffering activate and load new neural pathways with feelings of fear, hate and anxiety and they destroy positive inspiration. • Praise – when we receive praise for something we did well, we feel exhilarated and invigorated. However, when we are criticised, we experience rejection and our inspiration levels are negatively impacted.

BREAKOUT ACHIEVEMENT

VICTORY

PARTICIPATION

LEARNING

SELECTION

GOOD NEWS

PRAISE

NEURAL IMPACT

INSPIRATIONAL IMPULSES - PEAK EXPERIENCES

The following factors also influence our neurochemistry, resulting in changes in our inspiration levels: • Physical exercise – experiencing the pain of exertion modifies the neurotransmitter and receptor activity that induces feelings of relief and achievement. Sensing (seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling) images of people exercising also has implications for mood and feeling. • Nutrients – everything we eat or drink contains amino acids, alkaloids, minerals and vitamins which affect the production and secretion of hormones (neurotransmitters) in various places in the body, like the central nervous system, liver and glands. Excesses or shortages of critical nutrients result in modified neural activity. • Drugs – drugs are feeling- and fantasy-enhancing neurotransmitter or receptor replacements or supplements that induce dependency. Abused drugs such as anticholinergics, cannabinoids, dissociatives, opiates, psychedelics (hallucinogens), sedative-hypnotics, stimulants and volatiles (inhalants) act as antagonists or agonists of neurotransmitters and receptors and cause mood and behaviour changes. It is important to realise that all sensory stimuli, behaviours and experiences have some neural impact and induce neural activity, which influences our wellness and ability to achieve. Chapter 15: Personal wellness

101

PHYSICAL WELLNESS The exercise and rest we get, and what we eat and drink, play a key role in our physical wellness.

Exercise and rest Studies have proven that exercise not only helps the body, but it actually helps the brain to work better and improves a person’s mood. Any sort of activity, be it walking, running, swimming, sports, weightlifting, yoga or stretching, is beneficial. A person can start off with five minutes a day, three days a week. Movement helps release toxins from tissues, burns unnecessary fat and gets the blood circulating. A person need not spend three hours a day in the gym to be in shape. It is sufficient to exercise for five minutes a day, three times a week. You can gradually and naturally work up to longer periods of time until you eventually enjoy exercising for 30 minutes or more a day. It should not be a burden to take care of your body, else you will never succeed. You must truly appreciate how important your body is. Once you have attainted a level where you enjoy physical activity, we recommend several different kinds of exercise. • Cardiovascular: Any exercise that gets your heart racing for at least 30 minutes is fine. The most common examples are running, biking or cardio machines at the gym – whatever is most enjoyable for you. • Weight training: It's important to do some weightlifting in order to shape your body and strengthen your muscles and ligaments. Just move your muscles a little – just putting a little strain on them is fine. • Yoga: Yoga is quite possibly the best exercise you can do. Yoga exercises have been refined for thousands of years and are so perfected that simple movements can have dramatically positive effects on your mental, physical and spiritual wellness. It is recommended that we sleep uninterrupted for seven to eight hours a day. If we can manage that, we can also take a few catnaps now and then to stay sharp. Sleep produces important neurotransmitters that are essential for great performance.

Nutrition The mission of correct nutrition is metabolic balance, that is the body’s ability to stay in balance in terms of the building (anabolism) and breaking down (catabolism) of tissue. You need to consume the right food and liquids to sustain this balance. Nutrition is a specialised field and specialist advice is recommended for the diet that suits the person’s blood group and other vital characteristics. Sufficient distilled fresh water is a critical component of nutrition. A few basic rules apply: The first rule is that we must take in a lot of fresh, raw fruit and vegetables to ensure that we maintain the correct fluid levels in our bodies and to ingest the essential enzymes, minerals and vitamins. The second rule is that food must be eaten in the correct combinations, as some foods don’t combine well during metabolism. Some combinations even inhibit metabolism, resulting in illness. Food with high water content is critical to sustain metabolic balance. Fresh, raw fruits and vegetables contain much of the water and nutrients the body needs. The body needs essential vitamins, minerals, fibres and nutrients for optimum health. Fatigue, weight gain, illness, depression and lethargy could be ascribed to a low intake of raw fruits and vegetables, which are preferable to cooked food, as cooking destroys most nutrients. 102

Talent Management

Organic foods normally don’t contain the poisonous chemicals, pesticides, hormones and preservatives that can cause cancer, illness and toxicity. Inorganic foods immediately affect our cells. Fried, processed, packaged and instantly processed foods have the same adverse effect on cells, tissues and organs as drinking small amounts of poison. Supplements are an essential part of nutrition. The most important supplements are liquid multivitamins and minerals.

MENTAL WELLNESS Mental wellness derives from active mental engagement and challenging achievement. Every mental faculty is challenged and tested when we desire and drive a successful achievement. We sense and experience mental wellness as clarity of mind, strong analytical power, sharpness of memory, instant recall, strong self-worth and confidence in facts, decision making and in choosing the right way forward. Mental wellness is a sustained state of euphoria in which neurotransmitters play a key role – it drives us to conquer adversity, constraints and difficulties and provides us with the intent, speed and commitment to achieve. Personal safety and financial security are essential to mental wellness. The strongest needs that have to be satisfied in order to attain and sustain mental wellness are self-actualisation and breakout achievement which are driven by self-knowledge, competence and confidence.

RELATIONSHIP WELLNESS Relationship wellness refers to how effective and comfortable we are in interacting not only with friends, but also with a diversity of people. How comfortable we are with others depends on how comfortable we are with ourselves. Relationship wellness refers to our level of social interaction, mutual trust and respect. Some of the most powerful predictors of long-term physical and psychological wellness surround friendship. This area of wellness focuses on caring about others, the value of close friendships, group associations and our willingness to seek out others during stressful times. The ego is the biggest hurdle in the establishment and maintenance of sound interpersonal relationships. In general, people who are closely connected with others enjoy better long-term physical and psychological health.

SPIRITUAL WELLNESS Spiritual wellness is the realm of perfect harmony between mind, body and soul. Spiritual wellness manifests itself in an acute sensing ability and refined consciousness. We experience spiritual wellness when we believe we are loved by a Divine Power and when our emotions and feelings are inspired by making and accepting loving, interpersonal gestures and by sensing and absorbing the stimuli of nature’s intelligent design and beauty. Our developed virtue intelligences are the key to spiritual wellness. Making the realm of spiritual wellness more concrete means living a life of higher quality and experiencing a peace that goes beyond what material wealth and external situations can offer. In fact, those who have achieved all their life goals conclude that there is no greater wealth to attain than to ascend to spiritual wellness. Spiritual wellness is priceless, yet available to rich and poor alike. It cannot be purchased or received externally, and it allows you to leave anxiety, drama and disease behind. Spiritual wellness connects you with the wealth of inner peace, physical health and also with virtuous, positive, like-minded people who will help, encourage and support your personal wellness objectives. Chapter 15: Personal wellness

103

Spiritual wellness is not concerned with just the nature of your religious beliefs or specific religious practices. Having a sense of interconnected respect for all life forms or becoming lost in meditation, poetry, music or prayer can have profound, positive physical and psychological consequences. We pass through the phases and levels of wellness with meditation, prayer and spiritual conversation. We learn that, in the stillness of meditation, God reveals Himself to us. Meditation stills the mind so that we become receptive to the messages that feed our spirit, intuition and imagination. God’s love, peace, joy and fulfilment enter our minds, hearts, bodies and souls. We become completely receptive to Him during meditation, which means we are devoid of mental chatter and clutter. We are not thinking about worries, problems to solve, conversations we had the day before, things we need to do tomorrow or memories we need to mull over. “Prayer is the expression of the soul. It is the yearning of the soul, which cries out for light, for guidance. That very act of itself brings an answer, because it is setting into motion the power of thought. Prayer is our deliberate expression of gratitude for blessings received as well as of unmet emotional and physical needs. True prayer enables us to equip ourselves for service. Prayer is the means by which we attune ourselves to higher causes. Praying with the soul and the mind is an earnest desire to reach out to the highest the soul can attain. Then filled with the inspiration that comes as a result of the prayer, you emerge stronger. True prayer is never wasted, for thought has potency. Prayer is the means by which you attune yourself to the higher forces” (Birch, 1938: 78). Abraham Lincoln, a revered former president of the United States of America, said in 1861: “Without divine assistance I cannot succeed: with it I cannot fail” (Watson, 1951: 70). Martin Luther said the following: “All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they asked and desired” (Watson, 1951: 66). Alexis Carrel, a physician who saw many patients lifted out of disease through prayer, wrote the following: “Prayer is not only worship; it is also an invisible emanation of man’s worshipping spirit – the most powerful form of energy that one can generate. The influence of prayer on the human mind and body is demonstrable as that of secreting glands. Its results can be measured in terms of increased physical buoyancy, greater intellectual vigor, moral stamina, and deeper understanding of the realities underlying human relationships. If you make a habit of sincere prayer, your life will be very noticeably and profoundly altered. Only in prayer do we achieve that complete and harmonious assembly of body, mind and spirit which gives the frail human reed its unshakeable strength.” (Watson, 1951: 67). Spiritual conversations with spiritually sensitive fellow human beings allow us to be frank about our dreams and beliefs and the factors that influence our spiritual wellness. We need an association or spiritual inner circle for expressing and sharing the condition of our spirit in order to be intuitive and creative. We find room for expression and nourishment in those religions that allow us to be and have a free spirit and to pursue spiritual wellness. Spiritual barrenness is the opposite of spiritual wellness and is driven by the total absence of real food for the spirit – a spiritual desert. “Today, men and women risk becoming victimized by their own achievements and realizing spiritual barrenness and emptiness of heart” (Pope Benedict XVI, in his first Christmas message as Pontiff, 25 December 2005). The food of the spirit is love for your fellow man, respect for life, the beauty of nature and sensing the presence of God. Spiritual barrenness is the spreading of critical social ills. All the enlightened teachers who walked this

104

Talent Management

earth had the same message – self-realisation (spiritual bliss) comes from love, devotion, service and connecting with God and His creations. Mahatma Gandhi, one of the world’s most revered political leaders and the man considered to be the father of organised non-violence, said the following: “There must be recognition of the existence of the soul apart from the body, and of its permanent nature, and this recognition must amount to a living faith; and, in the last resort, non-violence does not avail those who do not possess a living faith in the God of Love” (Schumacher, 1973: 32). J. Pierpont Morgan, the famous American banker and the man reputed to have been “the Napoleon of Wall Street”, “the Patron Saint of Capitalism” and “America’s leading banker”, is the man who reorganised America’s railroads and created some of the greatest industrial thrusts, including General Electric and US Steel, during the nineteenth century. He wrote the following in one of his diaries: “It has pleased Almighty God to preserve my life to the opening of another year. May it please him to forgive all my sins of thought, word and deed and lead me to lead in future a life more devoted to His service” (Strouse, 2000: 56).

Chapter 15: Personal wellness

105

CHAPTER SIXTEEN INSPIRATION The music I listen to before a meet is usually house music – the uplifting kind of stuff to get me excited for the battle that’s coming up. But before really big meets like the Olympics, you’re pretty pumped up already, so I may listen to something a little more down-tempo to calm myself. Ryk Neethling – Swimmer and Olympic gold medallist I have spread my dreams under your feet, tread softly because you tread on my dreams. WB Yeats (1865 – 1939)

WHAT IS INSPIRATION? Inspiration is the neural energy that drives our feelings, moods and behaviour. Neural energy is induced by our neurochemistry (neurotransmitters and receptors) and is activated by our sensory intake, peak experiences and thoughts, imagined dreams, visions and feelings. Inspiration is the energy of the mind. It provides the energy for positive behaviour in a person or group of people. Inspiration starts with sensory stimuli such as visuals, sounds, smells, touches and pain. The mind automatically processes these stimuli and channels them as emotions, thoughts, images and feelings with a positive or negative charge. Emotions, thoughts, images and feelings with a positive charge have a positive reinforcing influence, and those with a negative load have a negative reinforcing effect on behaviour. There are two sources of inspiration: The intrinsic source of inspiration is the confluence and fusion of thoughts, dreams, aspirations, interests, emotions, feelings and images in the mind. The extrinsic source of inspiration is sensory stimuli sparked by the senses and extrinsic force fields. Positive reinforcing feelings, thoughts and images come from good news, acceptance, acknowledgement, achievements, praise, new insights, approbation, selection, tributes, awards, rewards and incentives. These impulses are the carriers of inspiration. Inspiration is sparked by intrinsic and extrinsic inspirational impulses that fire up the mind, soul and body with thoughts, emotions, behaviours and feelings. Inspiration is the fuel for success, happiness, progress and greatness. The strongest inspirational influences come from the people closest to us.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INSPIRATION AND MOTIVATION Inspiration and motivation are the two key activating processes that induce achievement and move individuals and organisations on the paths of self-fulfilment. Successes, triumphs, great achievements and prosperity do not come about without inspiration and motivation. Successful people and organisations harness both forces equally well. Some harness both forces consistently, over time, to become truly great. Inspiration is the emotional energy, excitement and enthusiasm incited by the body’s senses and the mind’s thinking and imaginative power. It is an instinctive and intuitive neural process. Peak 106

Talent Management

experiences and sensory stimuli, like new insights, words of kindness or encouragement, beautiful images and colours, sounds and tunes, create and grow dreams, desires, emotions, feelings and beliefs that induce neural energy. Inspiration is the emotional fuel and the product of neural activity. Motivation is achievement-oriented human behaviour unleashed by an external system-driven activation process that directs and activates people through challenge, focus and goal clarity. It is constructive, progressive, going-forward behaviour (momentum) induced by challenging objectives, measurement and feedback. Motivation is induced through rational goal setting, challenge and disciplined going-forward objectives that provide momentum towards achievement. Inspiration is neural energy created by the mind through the sensory stimulation of the neural pathways, while motivation is behaviour produced by the conscious mind through learnt goals, objectives, information, knowledge and measures. A person, team or institution must control both processes effectively for the achievement of success and greatness.

THE INSPIRATION PROCESS Inspiration is induced by sensory stimulation. It reloads or creates new neural pathways with energy and a positive state of mind in a person or group of people. Sports coaches often use the word “hunger” to describe a heightened state of inspiration. Beautiful images, sounds, praise, dreams, aspirations, positive reinforcing news, acceptance, acknowledgement, discoveries, trust, new insights, approbation, selection, tributes, awards, victories and incentives are the carriers of inspiration. Inspiration is produced when intrinsic and extrinsic inspirational sensory impulses impact a person’s mind. These fire up the neural pathways of the mind and body with images, thoughts, emotions, behaviours and feelings. Inspiration is the fuel for success, happiness, progress and greatness. Webster’s Dictionary describes inspiration as follows: “To have an animating, enlivening or exalting effect upon someone, especially in a degree or with a result suggestive of the workings of some extraordinary power or influence” (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, 1986: 1170). Inspiration is a popular concept and is frequently used in the media. The word is normally used to describe the invigorating effect of a political speech, team talk, praise, gift, book, product, prize, advert, movie or theory on the mood, feelings and behaviour of people. Despite its apparent spiritual or religious connotation, that is, “a divine influence or action upon the lives of certain persons that is believed to qualify them to receive and communicate sacred revelation and is interpreted within Christianity as the direct action of the Holy Spirit” (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary), the word is extensively used in sport, education, politics and business to describe human acts aimed at inducing higher levels of devotion, effort and achievement. There is a body of intuitive wisdom that leaders, coaches, teachers, movie producers and politicians access at will to get the immediate results they want. Despite this progress, no society has developed a robust recipe for consistently inspiring or motivating individuals, teams and institutions towards great achievements or greatness. The reason for this shortcoming in societies is threefold: Inspiration is not recognised as a distinct Chapter 16: Inspiration

107

process and is therefore not maximised; the characteristics of greatness are evasive and evolving; and many social cultures impede individual and institutional greatness. Structuring an inspirational process is therefore one of the most challenging crusades a society could undertake.

The modes of inspiration Inspiration has two modes of induction: • Intrinsic inspiration is induced by the capacity of the mind to imagine, dream, aspire, emote, auto-search, auto-process and generate insights and emotions. • Extrinsic inspiration is induced by the senses and is driven by external stimuli.

INTRINSIC INSPIRATION Intrinsic inspiration is an intuitive and auto-suggestive or self-talk process. People have dreams or experience emotions and develop aspirations and passions that fire them up and provide them with emotional energy. High-impact intrinsic inspiration impulses are subconscious products like dreams, bright ideas and insights that spark and fuse in the mind as a result of the auto-search and auto-insight-processing capacity of the mind, as well as the mind’s capacity to generate and store insights, emotions, images and feelings (inspiration, fear). It is claimed that most of Shakespeare’s plays were inspired by dreams.

g n) lin tio feeisfac t (sa

co n n un scio ew ea us sin nes ess s/

New ideas and insights are the result of the confluence and fusion of stored feelings, images and insights or new images resulting from new sensory impulses fusing with stored thoughts and images. The spontaneous confluence and fusion of feelings, images and insights into new ideas and insights is the fountainhead of enthusiasm, creativity and innovation.

th imaginking/ inatio n

strategising (solve problem)

ur avio ht) behwork, fig , t c (a

INTRINSIC INSPIRATION CYCLE

Dreams, aspirations, new ideas, emotions (greed, love, fear, hate)

Visuals, images, words, sounds, pictures, tastes, smells, pain and touch activate the senses of the brain, resulting in a sequence of brain activity. The sensory stimuli spark a cycle of experience, 108

Talent Management

reflex behaviour, emotion and mind searching and processing (thinking, etc.), and emotions (inspiration) are generated. Mind energy is subsequently exhausted through behaviours like planning, working, walking, talking, sport, eating and sex. Feelings are aroused by these activities and a new state of mind is created. Feelings are responsive to new sensory inputs – a new mind energy cycle driven by new sensory inputs can either reinforce these feelings positively or negatively.

EXTRINSIC INSPIRATION Extrinsic inspiration is primarily driven by sensory stimulation from the environment. A person is exposed to the inputs, influences and behaviour of an inner circle of friends, the social culture and information of a community and society, the spiritual culture and religions, and the reward culture and incentives within which he or she makes a living.

feeling (satisfaction)

b (w eha or vi k , ou fig r ht )

Words, visuals, sounds, tastes, smells, pain, touch

ing

ns

se

EXTRINSIC INSPIRATION CYCLE

exp reflex erience behav iour

n r) otio ge em ck, an o , sh (joy

thi imanking gin g

feeling, fear) ation (inspir

A person responds to the influences of these stimuli in a unique way through the intrinsic inspiration process, and these responses influence his or her personal force field. This personal force field and the person’s deeds can then either have a negligible or major influence on the environment.

PERSONAL SPONSORSHIP

INVESTMENT/ COMMISSION

GROUP INFLUENCE

NEW LOVE/ PASSION

INSIGHT/AUTO SUGGESTION

AWARD/RECORD ACHIEVEMENT

TEAM/ROLE SELECTION

LEARNING /WORK OPPORTUNITY

VISUALS/SOUNDS

GOOD NEWS

SENSORY INPUT - INSPIRATIONAL IMPULSES

©DAI 2004

Neural impact Emotional impact Spiritual impact Physical impact

Chapter 16: Inspiration

109

High-impact sensory impulses like good news and role selection are sparked by force fields of the environment (e.g. selection to a national sports team). These impulses have a neural impact and trigger the intrinsic inspiration cycle, resulting in behaviour and feelings that drive development in an individual, team or institution.

1. Good news Good news is a strong source of inspiration. People prefer good news to bad news. The announcement on 15 May 2004 that South Africa had won the bid to stage the 2010 Soccer World Cup led to extreme joy amongst millions in Africa. Fortune Magazine of March 2004 featured a story on how good news about the end of the war in Iraq led to an explosion in consumer and investor confidence in the US. The editors of the German newspaper, Bild, refrained from printing negative publicity when Michael Schumacher failed to win the 1997 Formula One World Championship owing to an incident involving Villenueve in the last race of the season. “Bild’s editors had been among the first to notice a new phenomenon in German newspaper publishing: If you are nice to the nation’s heroes, you sell more newspapers; if you take them apart, you sell fewer newspapers” (Allen, Fortune Magazine, March 2004: 42).

2. Visuals and images Visuals of huge construction cranes operating against the skyline produce an inspiring image of development, building and growth and induce positive reinforcing thoughts, images, emotions and feelings. Flags waved before, during and after sports events induce an air of excitement and inspire positive emotions and sentiments. Some musical tunes have had an inspirational effect on people’s minds for centuries. Visuals of extreme destruction, like those of New York’s World Trade Center buildings being screened endlessly on television, had a devastatingly negative reinforcing effect on the state of mind of millions, as did Internet visuals of people being decapitated. Visuals of extreme human suffering, of the destruction of society and destruction in nature have become the weapons of mass demoralisation in the hands of terrorists. Pictures of places and people wrecked by car explosions appear on TV every day. To escape from this abuse of the senses, people join wellness programmes and visit unspoilt reserves and beaches to refresh, heal and inspire their minds with images of birds, frogs, fish, game and flora in a natural environment.

3. Learning or work opportunities Being admitted to a respected educational institution or exclusive faculty, or receiving a bursary to further your education, always has an inspiring effect on those with a passion for selfdevelopment. A job for someone who is unemployed, or promotion for someone who is already in an organisation, usually brings with it feelings of joy and happiness.

4. Appreciation and team or role selection Appreciation, acceptance, admiration and adoration refer to the positive reinforcing gestures and utterances of other people, such as friends or colleagues. The bust of Albert Einstein, the physicist credited with the Theory of Relativity and the formula e=mc2, stands in libraries and universities throughout the world. Despite the fact that his work led to the creation of the 110

Talent Management

devastating atom bomb, he once said: “I am happy because I want nothing from anyone. But I do get pleasure out of the appreciation of my fellow workers” (Philips, Reader’s Digest, 1965: 41). People work hard for inclusion in teams of significance. The more prominent the team and the higher the status of selection, the more people are inspired by the selection. Team members will tell you that selection immediately results in feelings like pride, trust and enthusiasm.

5. An award or record achievement An award for something well done or something extraordinary has an immediate impact on emotions and feelings. The absolute exuberance of someone receiving an Oscar for acting or a Nobel Prize for a scientific or literary achievement is clearly visible.

6. A new insight or idea A new insight or idea always has an inspiring effect. Great artists and scientists of the past tell stories of how a fresh insight or idea fired up their energy to accomplish really great deeds.

7. A new love, desire or passion There are many everyday examples of people who find a new life partner or fall in love with someone who brings fresh inspiration to their life. Even falling out of love inspires some people to new heights of personal achievement, usually when the relationship produced a blocking effect owing to dominance on the part of one partner, or where both partners are so talented that they need to separate for both to realise their potential and capture their own space. A classic example of independent development would be Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir who never married, yet continued to influence one another’s writing throughout their lives.

8. Group influence The enthusiasm and resolve that can come from members of a team or group and which reinforce team spirit is a well-known factor in sport and other forms of competition. Members of a team can have a huge influence on one another by voicing and demonstrating mutual trust and respect.

9. Investment/commission A financial investment in a person’s business idea is hugely inspirational. It is a sign of the trust and belief that the investor has in the ability and worthiness of the recipient. It normally drives the recipient to unprecedented heights in terms of personal achievement. Being commissioned to do a work of art has a similar inspirational impact. A very recent example of investment in an idea is the experience of Adrian Gore, whose idea for a new private health insurance industry was backed and financed by Laurie Dippenaar of FirstRand. Legend has it that Adrian went to Laurie in 1991 with an idea to put the then dormant medical insurance licence of Rand Merchant Bank to good use. Laurie enthusiastically received the idea and invested R10 million in developing a business plan for what is now known as Discovery, a company that currently dominates the private health insurance industry with annual revenues of more than R7 billion per year (’Adrian Gore Unlikely CEO’, Financial Mail, 26 September 2004).

10. Personal sponsorship Personal sponsorship is a practice that many sporting goods manufacturers put to good use in firing up the performance of athletes or sportsmen and sportswomen in order to boost sales of their products. Chapter 16: Inspiration

111

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN BUILDING A VITAL INNER CIRCLE Relationships help us to define who we are and what we can become. Most of us can trace our successes to pivotal relationships. Donald O. Clifton and Paula Nelson

There is usually a helping hand in everyone’s life. There are people who step forward into an inner circle to bestow kindness and inspiration, who share knowledge, invest capital, take you through a troubled phase in your life onto the next step of your development or into the selling phase of your product – people who believe in your talent, personal dreams and ability to realise those dreams. We could call these people “talent-smiths”, as they turn a raw, precious stone or mineral into something special and beautiful, like a goldsmith turns a piece of raw gold into a beautiful piece of jewellery. Talent-smiths are driven to do this by free will, love, compassion and trust in their fellow beings. Some think of the compensation that may come from sharing success, fame and wealth, but only as a secondary motive. Not much is said and written about these people – they are the unsung heroes of progress. They are the wheels of personal achievement, success and greatness who move people forward to better places and improve societies. When people become successful or great, they rarely take time to thank those who played such a key role in their lives – the people who banked on their dreams.

THE ROLES OF THE VITAL INNER CIRCLE Vital inner circles fulfil the following roles in someone’s life: They • know, protect and support your true identity • provide you with the means to earn an income and establish financial security • help you discover your truest interest, innate potency and intelligences • inspire and challenge you with breakout experiences • help you maintain your physical, mental, relational and spiritual wellness. An inner circle controls or influences the intensity, frequency and sustainability of inspiration and motivation of individuals. It is typically composed of people who contribute and accept the following (it is a process of equal give and take): • Encouragement • Trust • Sincere, supporting love • Respect and adoration

112

Talent Management

• Visions, challenges and targets • Knowledge, skills transfer, new insights and alternative views • Honest appraisal feedback and positive criticism • Dependency and desire for encouragement • Opportunity to download feelings of fear and uncertainty. The composition of a person’s inner circle is always unique in terms of the personalities and occupations of its members. They are normally not aware of each other’s involvement and of being part of a person’s inner circle. No individual ever shares the same inner circle with another individual. Members of an inner circle all have their own inner circles, with the result that an individual is linked to several inner circles. The number of people in an individual’s inner circle varies from individual to individual. It can vary from two to six. Inner circles always include one or more family members or friends, and always include people who want to benefit from the association in terms of self-fulfilment. This interdependency creates the driving force that ultimately results in achievement for the members. The manifested interdependence and interactive power of the inner circle play a strong role in the achievement or failure of the individual members. Inner circles are exposed to constant change. Members of an inner circle spontaneously move into or out of the circle. This migration is caused by changes in interpersonal attraction, dependency and experienced benefit and self-fulfilment.

SELECTING THE MEMBERS OF ONE’S INNER CIRCLE To be successful, selecting the members of your inner circle must be astute and strategic in terms of providing them with leverage for self-fulfilment. Great achievers always manage to connect with individuals who seek maximum benefit for everyone in the inner circle. Losers always surround themselves with poor achievers or people they can’t trust. When the composition of an inner circle is flawed or becomes artificial, it will radically influence the achievement of its members.

THE INNER CIRCLE TALENT EXPRESSION ANCHOR PHYSICAL/ EMOTIONAL WELLNESS ANCHOR

PERSON

SPIRITUAL WELLNESS ANCHOR

Chapter 17: Building a vital inner circle

IDENTITY ANCHOR

INCOME ANCHOR

113

It would seem that the composition and dynamics of an inner circle at any point in time are strongly influenced by the pursuit of self-fulfilment of its members. Members draw and provide inspiration and motivation in terms of one another’s needs for identity, talent expression, ownership, emotional as well as physical and spiritual wellness. The diagram on p. 113 reflects the composition of a typical inner circle. One person may provide anchorage and stimulus in one or more paths of self-fulfilment. The vital inner circle plays a critical role in inspiring breakout achievement. The reinforcing behaviour and social influence of teachers, academics, mentors, sponsors, investors and partners have a great influence on people, teams and institutions en route to great achievements. Parents, educators, preachers, mentors, coaches, trainers, teammates, bankers and institutional leaders have one thing in common: They help people discover, mould and appreciate their talent. They provide the heat and the moulds that best bring out the beauty hidden in people. For many thousands of years, the progress of societies and community structures has been in the hands of people with the passion, courage, inclination, knowledge, resources and perseverance to unlock great talent. If one assumes that the human being is God’s medium for the creation of order, beauty and happiness on planet Earth, then these people are performing a divine task. Like sculptors, goldsmiths or diamond cutters, they unveil the beauty and value in people. Talent-smiths as members of an inner circle play a number of roles in people’s development. They act as prospectors, assayers, selectors, catalysts, shapers, promoters and sellers of human talent. More specifically, they discover the unique talent people are blessed with, they inspire, motivate and nurture these people into doing and creating things of value to society and they promote and sell the talent, deeds, creations and achievements of their protégés.

THE ROLES OF VITAL INNER CIRCLE MEMBERS The role of the talent-smith is best illustrated with a few stories. The first story is of a street singer who rose to greatness through the intervention of a nightclub owner... In 1935, a 19-year old girl called Edith Piaf, working in the streets of Paris, France, was singing to passers-by for money. She was of less than average height, ragged, thin and seemed little more than a child. “She was a veritable urchin of the gutters” (Piaf, 1965: 14). In her own words, she was pale and unkempt, wore no stockings and her coat was cut at the elbows and hung down to her ankles. When she had finished her song and her friend was making the collection, a man with a gentlemanly manner and bearing came to her and said: “Are you crazy? You are ruining your voice!” He had been listening attentively and with a frown on his face. He said to her: “You are completely mad. You should have more sense.” She answered with a quick retort: “I have to eat.” He replied: “But of course, mon petite, but there are other ways of doing it. With a voice like yours, why aren’t you singing in the cabaret?” She thought that the answer should be that she was not very presentable in her ragged sweater, tatty little skirt, and shoes two sizes too big for her, but answered: “Because I have no contract. If you have one to offer me…” He responded by saying: “And if I took you by your word?” She said: “Try me… then you’ll find out.” This amused the man and, with a slight smile, he said: “All right; let’s try it. My name is Louis Leplée and I run Gerny’s (a Paris nightspot at the time). Be there on Monday at four o’clock. You will sing all your songs to me and then we’ll see what can be done with you” (Piaf, 1965: 14). Louis Leplée had her 114

Talent Management

booked for her first gala appearance a few months later, where she gave of her best and proved herself worthy of the honour bestowed on her. Following this appearance, she made her first record, made her debut on radio and then signed a ten-week contract with a radio station. And so started one of the most incredible true-life stories of the past 70 years – the rise from the gutters of Paris to the world’s top concert halls of a girl named Edith Piaf, who, from birth, had all the odds stacked against her. Blindness in childhood, an early life of starvation amongst pimps and prostitutes, alcoholism, drug addiction, and several much-publicised love affairs which shocked even sophisticated Paris. A newspaper reporter said this of her: “She sang with love as Michelangelo carved with love… one of the greatest women of our time” (Piaf, 1965: 25). What made Edith Piaf great in the estimation of people was her enthusiasm, dedication, unique voice clarity tempered by many years of sorrow and crying, her ability to sing equally beautifully in French and English, her genius in selecting songs that best suited her voice and her ability to capture and mesmerise audiences in such a way that they refused to let her go at the end of a performance. In most recent times the ascendance of a man who became the undisputed leader of the world’s greatest cycle race illustrates the role of a single parent, a coach, a sponsor, teammates, competitors and doctors in the discovery, appreciation and nurturing of talent. Cycling fans measure greatness only by victory in the Tour de France (Bicycling South Africa, 2004). In 2005, Lance Armstrong won his seventh Tour de France on the trot since 1999, after being diagnosed with (and beating) cancer between 1996 and 1997. Lance Armstrong was born when his mother was only 17. He has never met his father. According to Lance, his mother never went to college and had no opportunities. She did, however, sign him up for the City of Plano Swim Club at the age of 12. The pool was 16 kilometres from where Lance lived, so he rode his bicycle there and back every day. At the age of 13 he entered his first triathlon, and soon after his first cycle race. After graduating from high school, he was selected for the US cycling team and met the new director, former Olympian Chris Carmichael, who has been coaching him since then. In his first professional race, the Classica San Sebastian, he finished so far back in the last place that spectators laughed at him. Three years later, he won the race. Chris Carmichael turned Lance Armstrong into the world’s greatest stage racer by administering a meticulous training and performance enhancement programme that includes measuring his times over trials and stages, his average heart rate, blood pressure, maximum sustainable power output and the lactic acid produced by his muscles. His body was turned into a high-performance engine without par. A vital inner circle is that group of people who support your progress on the five paths of sustained achievement and total wellness, which are: 1. to seek and experience a positive identity or self-image and sense of high self-worth 2. to seek and experience full expression of your strongest innate talents 3. to assure a steady income and experience ownership of possessions and assets 4. to seek and experience emotional and physical wellness 5. to seek and experience spiritual wellness.

Chapter 17: Building a vital inner circle

115

We continually reach out for fulfilment on one or more of these paths and no one ever reaches full gratification on any one or all of them. The ever-changing stimuli of life ensure that no one ever reaches a point of saturation on any of the paths – there is always something new to learn, buy, experience and feel, thus influencing one’s sense of self-fulfilment. The vital inner circle is the circle of influence that ensures engagement and retention in the working environment. We all need to be part of a circle of influence.

116

Talent Management

PART SEVEN TALENT COACHING

The deliberate practice of maximising a talent for greatness THE DELIBERATE PRACTICE OF PERSONAL MASTERY LIFE AS A JOURNEY OF CONTESTS THE DISCIPLINE OF WINNING – THE CIRCUITS OF PERSONAL SUCCESS

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN THE DELIBERATE PRACTICE OF PERSONAL MASTERY It is only when we can see the world as a ladder and when we can see man’s position on the ladder, that we can recognize a meaningful task for man’s life on earth. Maybe it is man’s task – or simply, if you like, man’s happiness – to attain a higher degree of realization of his potentialities, a higher level of being or ‘grade of significance’ than that which comes to him naturally. Schumacher, Small Is Beautiful

Mastery in any field of endeavour, be it painting, making music, building a house or turning a nut in a lathe, must always be the goal. We invariably commit our full talent to the task when we pursue mastery. We must always have a masterpiece in mind as the outcome. People ascend through several levels of peak learning experiences to achieve a level of personal mastery – that is, the supreme level of talent actualisation. Personal mastery is the zone of superconsciousness and super-competence we occupy when we imagine, inspire and effect events and conditions that have a lasting beneficial effect on the universal state of total human wellness.

STAGES IN THE ASCENDANCE TO MASTERY the Ladder of Mastery Great musicians, sculptors and painters who inspire joy, happiness and love in the lives of millions through their beautiful works evolve through several stages before becoming “masters”. Superstar athletes and sportspeople go through a similar process of attunement and atonement before breaking out of the cycle of ordinary performance. Political leaders and entrepreneurs evolve through the same process. Ultimate mastery is not possible without calibration, attunement and atonement. Attunement is the process of harmonising with the rules and achievement standards of the profession or domain of achievement, whereas atonement is the process of reconciling with the universal laws of spirituality and wellness.

The first stage of personal mastery - the seeker The true seeker is a person who aspires to and dreams of becoming the world’s greatest musician, sports star, scientist, teacher, politician or business leader. Grandparents, parents, teachers, friends and the parents of friends have a huge influence on seekers up to and during adolescence. When adult life kicks in, colleagues, bosses, lecturers and leaders influence people’s ambitions and also the focus and nature of their life experiences. The seeker phase is critical in the lives of people, as it determines the profession the person will pursue for a significant period of time. It is the phase in which some critical life habits are learnt. It is also the phase in which people learn to associate and work with others, and when the individual’s most prominent achievement talents become apparent.

The second stage of personal mastery - the novice The true novice is a person who enters the early stages of the pathway of a selected profession and lifestyle. During this phase, the individual learns the skills and acquires the knowledge and 118

Talent Management

habits of the profession and wellness through a series of experiences. Some of these skills, knowledge constructs and habits are portable and enable the person to change and succeed in other career pathways in later stages of his or her life. The most important learning experience in the novice phase is the growing awareness of the ruthlessness of the competition for success, and of how one must deal with direct competition in the workplace and social group. People who don’t possess sufficient will, tenacity and assertiveness to succeed in the occupied domain typically falter during this phase and drop out or move onto another pathway. This is a phase in which a person’s vital inner circle must play a supportive and guiding role in the development of key habits and in seeking inspiration from talent-enriching experiences.

The third stage of personal mastery - the disciple The true disciple is a person who aspires to become a master one day, and who admires the proficiency, disposition, achievements, fame and power of masters in career pathways that are interesting and attractive. A disciple observes the behaviour of the master obsessively and modifies his or her own behaviour to emulate the model set by the master. The disciple becomes a student of the philosophy and personality of the master and of his or her style and technique. A disciple advocates the philosophy, prowess and ability of the master at every opportunity and incessantly promotes the “genius” and the works, products and associates of the master. During this stage, the disciple passionately improves personal capabilities and habits and intuitively measures the gaps in techniques and achievements that exist between master and disciple. The disciple starts dreaming of the day when his or her own capabilities and achievements will surpass those of the master and when fame and success will open like a flower.

The fourth stage of personal mastery - the performer The true performer is a person who is proficient in his or her chosen craft or mode of expression. It is someone who developed an own, unique style and philosophy during the disciple phase. A true performer competes with the achievements, capabilities and following of the master and strives to succeed and outdo the master or to find and create new pathways of mastery. During this phase, the performer breaks away from the influence of the master and establishes an own, unique offering and fellowship. Performers are highly productive and ingenious in the ways they replicate or improve on the works of the master and develop their own mastery, domain of mastery and fellowship. Observers become aware of the rivalry between the best performers and the master, and compare the achievements and behaviour of their rivals. The rumours and publicity that emanate from such rivalry have a profound effect on the inspiration presented by rivals – the rival with the highest level of mental toughness prevails. The defeated rival works on a survival strategy while survivors adopt a new mode of behaviour, style and expression of mastery.

The fifth stage of personal mastery - the master True masters work and perform in the breakout achievement zone. They unlock wisdom and invent fields and practice of mastery, artistry, achievement, expression, influence and wellness. True masters are Masters of Life. To them, mastery is perfection. The life purpose of true masters is to help guide humanity still further along its path toward perfection and godhood, and to inspire leaders toward greater light and wisdom. True masters never lose their focus and skills and never relinquish their spheres of influence and mastery. True masters create and induce breakout achievements on various pathways on an unprecedented scale in terms of occurrence and impact. They understand the dynamics of achievement. True masters select and nurture disciples and Chapter 18: The deliberate practice of personal mastery

119

turn them into performers and masters. True masters respect the adoration of disciples and enjoy the contests and manipulations of activist performers. They build the capability and fellowship of disciples and performers because, such empowerment provides them with the respect, influence, and peak experiences required for transcendence to the highest planes of spiritual actualisation and greatness. True masters turn ideas into gold and people into winners. True masters master life, and not only one or two of the occupations of life. Sustained total wellness is the ultimate goal of every master. The following table reflects measures developed by Professor Arnold Ludwig of the University of Kentucky Medical Center. His published research and his Creative Achievement Scale represent a breakout achievement in the measurement of eminence and greatness (1995: 236). THE LUDWIG GREATNESS SCORECARD Measure

Indicator

Contributions

Contributors

Posthumous recognition

Timeless reputation

Launched institutions Changed nations/societies Produced art collectables Wrote music with lasting appeal Wrote standard-setting books

Caesar, Napoleon, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Picasso, Mozart, Shakespeare

Universality of contributions

Worldwide diffusion

Life-changing discoveries and inventions – Electric light / Phonograph / Telephone

Thomas Edison Alexander Bell

Setting new directions

Innovation

Induced shifts in traditional thinking, created discontinuities, new paradigms

Alexander Fleming – Penicillin Picasso, Sigmund Freud

Influence on other professionals

Thought leadership

Psychoanalysis - System of Analytical Psychology

Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung

Originality

New inspiration

Revolutionary scientific breakthroughs

Alan Turing - Computation Bell - Telephone

Extent of innovative accomplishments/ contributions

Plasticity/ Adaptability Diversity of achievements

Original contributions in several fields

Leo Tolstoy – Novelist, philosopher and religious leader Churchill – Statesman, essayist and historian

Breadth of proficiency

Valuable contributions in several fields

Haldane – Biochemist, geneticist, mathematician

Versatility/ breadth of interest in non-identical expressions

120

Talent Management

Measure

Indicator

Contributions

Contributors

Productivity

Diligence/ Prolific production/ Output over time

Creations/Works/Artefacts

Tennessee Williams wrote 25 full-length plays, 40 short plays, dozens of screenplays, two novels, one novella, 60 short stories, 100 poems and an opera libretto. Edison patented 1 093 inventions. Pablo Picasso – 20 000 paintings.

Contemporary fame

Fame while alive (The more famous during life, the more famous after death)

Admiration of products, works or performances. Capturing the imagination of people. Attracting large followings. Developing widely used products

Ford – Automobile Alfred Hitchcock – Suspense films Franklin D. Roosevelt – US President

Skill

Virtuosity/ Technical competence/ Proficiency/ Talent emergence at

Talent emergence at an early age

Picasso painted at age 14 Orson Wells acted in Madame Butterfly at age 3 Marc Blitztein played the piano at age 3

Chapter 18: The deliberate practice of personal mastery

121

CHAPTER NINETEEN LIFE AS A JOURNEY OF CONTESTS The virtue of all achievement is victory over oneself. Those who know this victory can never know defeat. A.J. Cronin

Young people and new employees must be taught at the outset of their careers that life is a journey of contests. These contests are within oneself and between people and organisations, with the ultimate destination being that of value and service to others. Too many people join organisations with a dormant competitive mentality. They must be woken up to the exchanges, contests and battles of the workplace, industries and markets. We experience individual contests during childhood and adolescence, but, during adulthood, we unlearn how to compete in the workplace because of the teachings and practices of management. We then fail to teach it to the younger generations. Robert Ardrey, a famous anthropologist, wrote in 1970: “Not for money and not for space, neither for sex nor a table in heaven do humans seek to best each other. We obey a law that, for all we know, may be as ancient as life on this planet. We seek self-fulfillment. Within the limits and the directions of our individual genetic endowment we seek such a state of satisfaction as will inform us as to why we were born. We have no true choice. The force that presses on us is as large as all vital processes, and were it not so, then life would return to the swamp. If there is hope for humans it is because we are animals.” In today’s sophisticated workplaces, employees are taught a philosophy that ambition and contest are counterproductive – they ruin harmony. This leaves many talented people in a quandary and irritable. They sense the opposite is true, because they see the ambitious mavericks and rebels leapfrogging up the career ladders and wealth rankings. In his latest bestseller, Screw It, Let’s Do It, master entrepreneur and billionaire, Sir Richard Branson, reveals many of the trials he had to face and overcome in order to become one of the best-known business architects of our time. His truest interest is to experience the fun and challenges of life. No magazine article has ever applauded Bill Gates or Michael Schumacher for their smooth people skills and cooperativeness. They respectfully mention the deliberateness, tantrums, intensity, impatience and belligerence of these masters of industry and entertainment as par for the course. Magazine articles hardly make mention of the intense and thorough calibrations that these two warriors conduct every time they select a crew member, or design, test and launch a new software product or racing vehicle respectively. The paradigm that “smooth relations produce winners” is in conflict with the realities of life. The true spiritual warriors lose out on the relationship trophies, but they pursue and win the real and meaningful contests, because they hardwired the hard lessons learnt during childhood and adolescence into their neural pathways. In their youth, they discovered that warriors who calibrate their talent and skills, prevail and survive. Leaders of modern societies were confident that they had sorted out the dynamics of every type of international conflict and that world peace was possible when, in the 20th century, the newborn League of Nations led to the formation of the United Nations to guard world peace. Recent conflicts between African states, between Israel and Palestine and in Iraq firmly established the 122

Talent Management

fact that life’s contests (especially between nations and political and ethnic groups) are continuing and even escalating in intensity and occurrence. People, institutions and societies must learn and reinvoke the ancient practices and insights that ruled contests and human wellness and survival for millennia. It is important to reflect on the nature of contests.

CLASSROOM

WORKPLACE

BATHROOM

BOARDROOM

SPORTSFIELD

ORGANISATIONAL

ENVIRONMENTAL

INNER SELF

BEDROOM

INTERPERSONAL

ARENAS AND CONTESTS

OLD AGE

ADULTHOOD

ADOLESCENCE

CHILDHOOD

BIRTH

CONTEST FREQUENCY

LIFE’S PHASES OF CONTEST

Types of contests – your life is a series of different contests that take place in various arenas. The types of contests you face are those with your inner self (for personal mastery), with the environment and with other people and your involvement in contests between leaders and their groups or organisations. The arenas of life’s contests – these are the bedroom, bathroom, classroom, workplace, boardroom, courtroom, the battlefield, the card game, the theatre, the road, the track, the racecourse, the bar, the stock exchange, the church, the press conference, the public conference, parliament and the polling station, to name a few. Contests occur almost everywhere that people meet and interact. Every one of these contests requires an understanding of the rules of the particular contest and the calibration know-how and skill to apply these rules in order to triumph. The life cycle of contests – we experience and participate in contests from the day we are born. These increase in number and complexity as we move through the cycle of life. Each and every contest and arena has unique dynamics, with a potency and complexity that can humiliate or destroy the unaware and unprepared. Wise spiritual warriors in every stage of life understand the dynamics of the associated contests and calibrate and conduct their campaigns within the structure of time, intelligence, precision, skills, resources, reliability, predictability and emotional, material and spiritual benefit.

The four types of contests that we are involved in are those for personal mastery, for interpersonal status and acceptance, our survival contest with the environment and our involvement in interorganisational competition.

Chapter 19: Life as a journey of contests

123

LIFE’S CONTESTS Contest type one – the inner contest for personal mastery The contest for personal mastery ignites, builds and hones our talent for the important personal contests of life.

Potency

It reveals our truest interest and the strength of our potency, skill and virtue intelligences, as well as the alignment between our potency, intelligences and our truest interest.

TRUEST INTEREST Skill intelligences

Virtue intelligences

It identifies our unique strengths and reveals inner conflicts in terms of bad habits, impediments to achievement and learning, destructive desires, weaknesses, undisciplined motivation, unfocused action and, in some cases, remnants of child abuse, like low self-esteem and self-loathing.

Personal mastery is a state of excellence in which our truest interest, ambition and strongest skill and virtue intelligences are maximised and aligned with the requirements of a job, contest or life goal. In the process of evolving personal mastery, we unpack and push inner conflicts out of our life and assume self-control with a new set of neural programmes for a new vision and desired set of incentives and trophies. A person’s ability to objectively and accurately measure his or her own personal mastery and competitiveness for a particular contest and to sustain the contest of life, changes over time. This change is influenced by a number of factors, viz. age, health, physicality, ambition, temperament, the environment, exposure and abuse. These factors all affect one’s personal measurement accuracy and competitiveness. This is the reason why conscious, continuous inner calibration must be a way of life.

Contest type two – interpersonal conflict In the interpersonal contest for social acceptance and status, we identify the members of our personal, supportive, vital inner circle and assess our relationships with these people as well as the roles they play in our life.

Relationship Person A

Relationship Person E

Relationship Person B

YOU

Relationship Person D

124

Relationship Person C

We identify and measure the interpersonal conflicts that exist in intimate relationships that are unstable, in our career or partnership situations, or in any situation where individuals come together to cooperate, interact or compete. In the interpersonal contest, we analyse the relationships and establish what must permanently change in the relationship for it to be successful. Talent Management

When we focus on personal growth and fulfilment, with or without the relationship, a worthwhile future outcome will emerge.

Contest type three – environmental contests In our contest with the social environment, we identify and measure the environmental opportunities or conflicts that promote or constrain our opportunities for self-development and progress.

Employer Family and home

Career MY PERSONAL ENVIRONMENT

Community services

Economy

Environmental opportunities can be presented by economic development, political and social liberty, investment patterns, social force fields, new industries or careers. Environmental discord can be caused by obstructed or stifling careers, destructive or depressing surroundings at home, crime, a neighbourhood or city environment that assaults the senses, an uncomfortably complex lifestyle, or an unprincipled social milieu.

Crime and safety

We often don’t recognise environmental conflicts and constraints because we are caught in the middle of them and adapt to them, but they ruin the inner self or spirit. We usually experience the side effects of these conflicts and constraints in the form of poor health, severe stress, anxiety or feelings of frustration or hopelessness. Environmental conflict must be transcended before one’s personal growth can continue. The way to transcend a toxic environment it is to visualise a new future and then marshal the courage and strength to transcend that environment.

Contest type four – inter-organisational contests Inter-organisational contests generally occur in terrains or areas outside the structures of organisations. The contests take place in the marketplaces that the contestants target. These areas have their own structures, systems and hazards.

Contestant A Contestant B

Contestant G MY POSITION IN THE TEAM

Contestant F

Contestant C

The aim of every leader involved in an interorganisational contest is to maintain coordination, cooperation and commitment among all members.

Contestant D

This comes about through qualities of leadership that are met with heartfelt respect and are maintained through a well-structured system of punishment and reward.

Chapter 19: Life as a journey of contests

125

Contestant E

Organisational contest identifies and measures every participant’s role and commitment in the contest between rivals. The areas of leverage in a contest between teams and organisations are strategy, resources and advantages. Organisational contest measures the alignment of the areas of leverage to the team or organisation’s mission and vision and facilitates the identification and removal of internal areas of conflict and weakness. It identifies the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses in areas of leverage and internal commitment. An opponent’s disorganisation, deadlines, desperation and uncertainties are formidable weapons in the hands of a superior strategist. Jim Collins and his team did splendid work in researching which factors created the difference between good and great organisations. The team identified six factors that determine organisational greatness. Three of the factors were people-related and involved talent management specifically. The right type of leadership (Level 5 leadership), the right type of employees (first the Who and then the What) and the right organisational culture (one of discipline) were set aside as key factors in moving from good to great.

126

Talent Management

CHAPTER TWENTY THE DISCIPLINE OF WINNING – THE CIRCUITS OF PERSONAL SUCCESS To go faster than the competition, to beat their best, to achieve anything, swimming is what they do, for hours every day. It’s obvious really, hardly worth raising, except for the nature of swimming. More so than any other athlete, the swimmer works against himself in isolation. Ryk Neethling, Olympic Gold Medalist, in Man Magazine Rebellion against your handicaps gets you nowhere. Self-pity gets you nowhere. One must have the adventurous daring to accept oneself as a bundle of possibilities and undertake the most interesting game in the world – making the most of one’s best. Harry Emerson Fosdick in Watson - Light from Many Lamps (1988: 155)

The profound performer is a product of astute talent identification, calibration, interactive imagination, learning, discipline, inspiration, endeavour, encouragement and deliberate practice. Cracking or inventing the winning code is one of the favourite passions and pastimes of the educated. Every year, the tables in bookshops are stacked chest high with new releases offering the latest secrets to success or to liberating the soul. Readers are blessed with publications that reveal the six drivers of good to great, the seven habits of effectiveness, the eight attributes of excellence, an eighth habit, the X-factor, unlimited mind power, 10 rules for strategic innovators, the 12 rules of leadership, the 17 qualities of a team player… The list goes on. All these publications bring a sincere new twist to the alchemy of personal or organisational success. We buy these books after reading the promotional material, and then take them home to read. We read a few chapters and then realise we’ve read the wisdom before – in another form. We then accept that the “wisdom crunchers” were at work again, concocting a new discipline of winning. Silver Birch, the American Indian spirit guide who lived many decades ago, said the following: “No knowledge alters truth. Truth is constant and eternal. You can add to wisdom, and you can add to knowledge, but you cannot bring new truth” (Storm, ‘The Philosophies of Silver Birch’, 1998: 154). Many people lend a creative, forming, trusting and guiding hand in managing talent. We are all plants in the garden of life, pruned and nurtured by a team of gardeners every season to make us produce our best flowers. We need to know and understand this pruning and nurturing process in order to share the peak experiences and rewards of winning. We need people to make us flower and bloom. Real contests are those that we are inspired to dream about, and want to win. Real contests are against worthy and respected rivals (issues or competitors) where failure has unhappy or dire consequences and where a person’s true talent is stretched to the limit. If you are the municipal manager of a town with 300 000 poor people with poor services, your job during your contract period would be to install services and change the local economy of that town to create structures for employment. If you are the CEO of a power utility, your job would be to install and maintain power supply capacity that ensures energy security for businesses, cities, towns and households Chapter 20: The discipline of winning – the circuits of personal success

127

for the next 20 years. If you are the CEO of a media entertainment company that competes through media technology, you must ensure robust technology architecture and consistently attractive entertainment in the face of the brutal international competition for viewers. If you are the Commissioner of Police, you must be an icon of virtue and match the genius of criminals with brilliant zero-tolerance strategies and policemen whose truest interest is to keep people and their property safe. You can only achieve this if your heart – your truest interest – is in your vocation and you have the potency and intelligences to execute this feat. The talent specification for every one of these positions is different. In the first position, a person will succeed whose truest interest is the deliberate economic empowerment of the poor in an impoverished town, with the potency and intelligences to do it. In the second position, the successful individual will have the potency, intelligences and truest interest to enable businesses, cities, towns and households to make the nation more globally competitive through appropriate sustainable energy technology solutions. In the third position, you need someone with aligned potency and intelligences who is passionate about entertaining the nations of a continent through state-of-the-art media technology. In the fourth position, you need an individual with appropriate intelligences and potency whose truest interest is a happy, crime-free, law-abiding society that ranks amongst the safest in the world. Benjamin Franklin, one of the architects of the American Constitution, co-author of the Declaration of Independence and a co-founder of the American nation, wrote in his autobiography: “O powerful Goodness! Bountiful Father! Merciful Guide! Increase in me that wisdom which discovers my truest interest. Strengthen my resolutions to perform what that wisdom dictates. Accept my kind offices to thy other children as the only return in my power for thy continual favors to me” (1790: 129). The clinical purpose of personal talent management is to accurately and precisely connect our truest intent, potency and intelligences to the most challenging contests in life and to prevent, eliminate or reduce dysfunctional bias in our mental programming and behaviour. We maximise our personal mastery and readiness for ongoing success by building the skills and virtues that underscore our truest interest. We are not bricks in the wall of life, but generators and batteries in the circuits of life. We must give as much power and light as we receive. There is no accomplished golfer in the world, even the best ones like Tiger Woods and Ernie Els, who does not experience turmoil after a bad putt or match, and who doesn’t mentally replay those failed shots. This mental replay and emotional stress burn the motions of the perfect shot into the neural pathways so that future shots can go where directed. This is talent calibration in action. Calibration is the ongoing, painful attunement to, and alignment of, the variables that determine precise execution and success. The aim of calibration is accuracy and precision in execution. Calibration in competition comes in many forms. Hunters calibrate their rifles before the hunt. They shoot a set of shots, aiming at the centre of the target, and then check the accuracy of the rifle by looking at the grouping and positioning of the shots. Key variables of accuracy are the weight, rotation, velocity, trajectory and direction of the bullet. By selecting another type of cartridge and assuming another position when aiming, the weight of the bullet, its velocity, trajectory, elevation and direction can be adjusted. Golfers and tennis players hit many different types of practice shots before going onto the course or entering the tennis court. They know what to do to hook, fade or spin the ball through the air. Goalies usually require the team’s best strikers to shoot hard, straight or curve balls at them in order to test and calibrate their reflexes, explosiveness, reach and stopping power. In motor racing, many practice laps are raced. Drivers 128

Talent Management

try various pit-stop and refuelling patterns, driving lines, fuel settings and tyre qualities. In leadership, we select and groom the right people for a campaign and empower them with trust, information, the freedom to act, clear accountability and goal description, and metrics for successful task execution. Even talk-show hosts calibrate themselves for best performance: “I am steadily building the core of who I am. I do believe that in order for one to realize one’s goals, etc., you have to be in touch with who you are. My ongoing project is a lot of soul searching and a lot of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)” (Noeleen Maholwana-Sangqu, City Pulse, 29 April 2007). Talent calibration is an ongoing, deliberate measurement and adjustment practice for improving accuracy and precision in personal mastery and effectively executing a job or career. It is a key circuit in the performance management process. Talent calibration has four microcircuits, namely: 1. Select and use an appropriate talent measurement instrument with reliable and accurate measures. The talent measurement instrument must reveal your truest interest, potency and intelligences. 2. Develop an accurate talent template for the career or position, or verify the accuracy of the talent template that is in place for the career, position or achievement. The talent template must reflect the truest interest, potency and intelligences required for success in the job, career or achievement. 3. Determine the match between the talent profile and the talent template for the position or career. 4. If the variance is negligible, you can decide whether to make a commitment to change the requirements of the template and rise to the challenge. If not, abandon the opportunity and find a new one. Positioning yourself effectively for a contest, job and career, or for a particular way of life, is accomplished through deliberate talent calibration and cultivation. There are several factors that shape your evolving personal mastery. Your potency, truest interest, intelligences and the culture of your team and its leadership are key engines of personal mastery. In the final analysis, it is what you envision and can do that determine your success. Many real or true achievers failed their entrance exams or were school and college dropouts. A good example is Bill Gates of Microsoft, who dropped out before his final year at university to start his own business and pursue his truest interest. Forbes Magazine has ranked him the richest man in the world for an unprecedented 11th year. He did not adapt to the calibration regime of the institution at the time and created his own contest based on his truest interest, which is to make the world computer literate. We frequently use IQ (intelligence quotient) as an indicator of achiever potential, being unaware or unconcerned that it only reflects one form of intelligence. Instruments to measure and monitor our talent (truest interest, potency, alpha and virtue intelligences) in an accurate and reliable way have remained on the fringes of performance calibration. A survey which a reputable performance consulting firm in the US recently distributed amongst its individual members, and which was completed by individuals in more than 400 organisations, revealed that performance management as a process has a long way to go in fulfilling its potential in most organisations. Chapter 20: The discipline of winning – the circuits of personal success

129

The bottom line from the State of Performance Management study is that, for most organisations, performance management remains a poorly executed and less-than-effective process. The responses of 60% of those surveyed indicated that performance management in their institutions was in a poor state. Most respondents were very critical of and indignant about the processes of forced ranking and forced rating, in which employees were ranked and rated against one another. More than 40% responded that employee resistance to performance management and lack of buy-in were key issues. In another analysis, it was found that only 42% of employees reported that they were getting regular performance feedback. The final conclusion of the survey was that the impact of performance management is less about the technique used and more about leadership support, execution and the overall performance culture. Talent management is at the heart of the problem. The reason for this conviction is that people are brought into positions without talent calibration, in the hope that behavioural, mental and emotional modelling and restructuring in terms of organisational needs (through performance scorecards and 360° assessments) will enable individuals to settle in and perform. This, we know from workplace insight, is futile and impossible. Adults who were not exposed to ongoing talent calibration and nurturing from an early age find it very difficult and mostly impossible to develop and respond to the rigour of a calibration paradigm in the workplace. The key determinant of ultimate capability and drive in any domain of employment is calibration and programming during childhood and adolescence. Children and youths who are allowed and assisted to roam from contest to contest and from failure to victory build up a robust and competitive calibration framework which carries them through many of the most challenging contests later on in life. When these warriors hit the competitive world of work and business, they prevail. Children and youngsters who are neglected or abused in any of a variety of ways when growing up typically develop a shield around their imagination, ambition and intelligences, resulting in people who go through life as unfulfilled protesters. Those who are encouraged to achieve when young, make the best workers, leaders and entrepreneurs. Talent calibration during childhood and adolescence releases the spiritual warrior inherent in all of us. Most people move from job to job and go through their careers unaware of the determinants, metrics and circuits of personal mastery. Sometimes, they respond to the occasional prodding of supervisors and colleagues and attend a two-day workshop or course that offers a lifetime of wisdom. They return to the workplace and bury the insights in their unconscious mind. Supervisors have a similar problem – they are required to design and provide team members with the position templates for personal mastery, but can only transfer their parochial insight. The talent growth cycle remains fruitless.

THE DELIBERATE PRACTICE OF PERSONAL SUCCESS People who evolve to mastery and success and ultimately sustain greatness deliberately practise self-development in eight virtuous circuits. They deliberately perform the tasks which make up the circuits and measure every step of their progress until their talent and expression of talent are profound. Deliberately practising self-development has the following results: The person’s truest interest becomes clearer. The person’s potency develops thrust, skills intelligences gain productive acuteness and the person’s virtue intelligences exude wisdom. Anyone who has evolved in this way arouses emotion with his or her presence and instils excitement with every deed of goodwill. That is the nature and power of mastery.

130

Talent Management

Circuit 1 Circuit 8

Clear intent

Result driven

Circuit 2

Achievement goals

THE VIRTUOUS CIRCUITS OF PERSONAL SUCCESS

Circuit 7

Wellness

Circuit 6

Inspiration

Circuit 3

Talent honing

Circuit 4 Circuit 5

Motivation

Vital inner circle

1. Circuit one – clear intent Clear intent is a key driver of success and happiness. Life offers an infinite number of options in terms of jobs, business opportunities, careers, relationships, activities and behaviours to the individual. The three watchwords of the happiness hunter are self-recognition (who am I?), selfdirection (where am I going?) and self-expression (what must I do?), and these questions must continuously occupy the mind (Watson et al, 1951: 267). We can chase after every opportunity and burn ourselves out in the process, or we can conserve our energy for breakout achievements by focusing our potency, truest interest and intelligences on those behaviours, relationships and achievements that nourish our truest interest. It is all a matter of clear intent, which clears away the jumble of opportunities around us and takes us forward. A clear vision is the energy centre of intent, as it mobilises us. The clear intent circuit requires that we periodically validate and reconfirm our vision and life plan and assess our expenses, investments, relationships and behaviours in terms of their contribution to the realisation of our vision and life plan. We then modify our goals where necessary.

2. Circuit two – the validation of achievement goals The second circuit that drives personal mastery and success requires that we set and validate goals to achieve mastery in our truest interest. The goals we set are informed by our intent and truest interest. The critical few challenging medium- and long-term goals are more effective than the setting of goals that appear and disappear every week. The rule of thumb is to set three to five goals – sufficient to count on one hand. A few goals work well. This is sufficiently challenging to absorb all our inspiration and attention, without harming our wellness. We can be really smart and have a personal life strategy map and a Life Balanced Scorecard with goals like financial stability, personal wellness and family harmony, or we can break down our truest interest and intent into goals, which are given sharp focus by developing measures and measuring progress periodically. Chapter 20: The discipline of winning – the circuits of personal success

131

3. Circuit three – the honing of talent The third circuit that drives personal success is that of talent honing. This circuit enables us to periodically assess, rate and enhance the meaning and inspirational value of our truest interest, the value-adding impact of our potency and the competitive levels of our skill and virtue intelligences. We must fully understand the nature and structure of talent to develop ourselves and to help others hone and leverage their talent. The shorter the cycles of assessment and honing, the more leverage will be induced, thus accelerating the process of attaining personal mastery.

4. Circuit four – motivation The fourth circuit is the key circuit for stimulating and reinforcing the momentum that we need for success. It is the hardest circuit to apply to ourselves, as it requires self-discipline of the highest order. Motivation is about setting stretch objectives and targets to achieve our goals. It requires that we set daily, weekly and monthly objectives and targets, then a set of one-year and threeyear objectives (to-do tasks) and targets. It requires that we assess our performance and achievements en route to our goals and measure our ascending potency, progress and success. We can administer our objectives with the aid of a computerised diary or even a little black book – it doesn’t matter. The key thing is that we have objectives and targets, that we pursue them and that we measure our success. This circuit ensures that we are activated and directed towards goal achievement. This is what talk-show host Noeleen Maholwana-Sangqu said to Gail Edmunds of City Pulse: “For me, success is achieving what I set out to do, whether it is planning a vegetable garden or going into business. The defining factor though is the steps one takes towards realising your success” (29 April 2007).

5. Circuit five – engage a vital inner circle The fifth circuit that builds our capacity to succeed is that of vital inner circle engagement. In this circuit, we identify the players in our inner circle and assess and appraise our level of engagement with them. We periodically appraise their personal talent development work rate and growth and the contribution they make to our personal talent growth, as well as the opportunities they create for developing and leveraging our talent. Considering that vital inner circle players individually make a contribution to our wellness, these contributions must firstly be assessed in the context of their selected roles, and, secondly, in terms of their closeness, support and inspirational value. Cold and harsh as it may sound, we have to be clinical as regards the selection and engagement of our vital inner circle. We must be aware that our friends are not necessarily part of that vital inner circle.

6. Circuit six – inspiration The sixth circuit we need to engage in periodically is that of personal inspiration. This circuit has three main streams: In one stream, we exercise the weekly habit of inspiring ourselves by reading inspirational and insightful literature, attending and participating in sports, participating in musical entertainment or meeting with inspiring people and attending inspiring spiritual gatherings. The second stream starts with finding a retreat in nature that nourishes the spirit, and then periodically breaking away from the home and workplace to just experience and soak up nature. The beauty of mountains, the sound and smell of the sea, and unspoilt fynbos reserves have a sobering and clarifying effect and revitalise mental, physical and spiritual wellness. In the third 132

Talent Management

stream, we tap into the Universal Intelligence. This is the accumulated wisdom and new insights that travel between people on different continents and is refreshed and purified by international debate. It is refreshing to listen to the views of nature conservationists as they share their insights and predictions on global warming and its effects. The different viewpoints on the origins and root causes of wars across the planet, the possible consequences of the world running out of petroleum and the origin and root causes of HIV/AIDS are other examples of stimulating topics. Universal Intelligence informs us of the force fields sweeping nations and continents. We can assess the impact thereof on local society and ourselves. The current worldwide drive to eradicate poverty, reduce illness and institute free trade, which attracts billions of dollars in donor money, will have significant implications for the world economic order. It will impact on the demand for and supply of talent in every society – every nation will experience it. In this circuit, we acquaint ourselves with evolving and pervasive trends by attending seminars or conferences, by listening to the news and by watching news programmes on television. There are many opportunities and challenges for leveraging our talents which can influence our intent and establish a new cycle of inspiration.

7. Circuit seven – wellness The seventh circuit ensures that we have a rhythm to managing our wellness. The four areas of wellness – physical, mental, relational and spiritual – require that we have a conscious rhythm for managing each of the four areas. We need an exercise programme and nutrition ethic that ensures our physical wellness. Our mental wellness is built and reinforced by our work and moral ethic and the pursuit and attainment of breakout achievements. The compensation and remuneration we receive for our effort must be assessed periodically to ensure that we are rewarded sufficiently. Our relationship wellness is built and reinforced by virtues like caring, loving and generosity, and keeping our ego under control. We experience spiritual wellness when our body, mind and soul are in harmony with the universe. Spiritual wellness is inspired by an ongoing routine of meditation, living virtuous habits and performing acts of compassion that benefit the lives of other people.

8. Circuit eight – getting results The eighth circuit ensures that we get results. Results are measured regularly in terms of personal income, special recognition, awards, new products, projects and new assignments. The mental and physical effort we put into achieving our objectives, determines our success. We can have the most superior goals and objectives, but, without putting effort into their execution, implementation, production, delivery and service, there can be no results. We must constantly assess the ratio of effort (hours) that we invest in generating value. We must also regularly assess the compensation we receive in relation to the effort we put in and the market value of our input. One sure way of wasting inspiration and undermining personal morale and potency is to undersell one’s potency and unique skill intelligences. Our market value is determined by our potency and skill intelligences and we soon experience low morale and burn-out if our compensation is not commensurate with our talent. Edison’s unprecedented capability to invent was driven by his capacity to deliver and to hold the trust of the wary and watchful men of Wall Street. Edison chafed at times under the obligations to meet timetables and demands that came with using other people’s money, but after one round of struggle, his secretary reported of him, “Beginning again to think that DM&C (the financiers) Chapter 20: The discipline of winning – the circuits of personal success

133

are thoroughly good people to be associated with us; although they may be a little hard in some things, they do not make empty promises. If they undertake to do a thing they fulfill their contract not only to the letter but also in the spirit in which it was made” (Strouse, 2000: 233). Edison once told The Sun newspaper: “I have accomplished all I promised.”

134

Talent Management

CONCLUSION WALKING INTO THE LIGHT – CREATING AN ABUNDANCE OF TALENT

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE WALKING INTO THE LIGHT - CREATING AN ABUNDANCE OF TALENT I believe we should all assess our lives from time to time. Have we reached our goals? Are there things we can weed out that we don’t need? I’m not talking about throwing away old shoes or broken chairs. I mean we need to lose our bad habits or lazy ways that hold us back and clutter our minds. Richard Branson – Screw It, Let’s Do It (2006) With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have born the battle, and for his widow and his orphan – to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. Abraham Lincoln (1861)

THE CHALLENGE In the thoughts of many people all over the world, Africa is a continent whose nations have been living “in the dark” for many centuries. It is an unfortunate label, this one of “Darkest Africa”, because it has held us back – it is a hidden psychological impediment to our development and growth. We did not really deserve the label, because Africa is one of the continents on the planet that enjoys the most sunshine and daylight. If the label came from the absence of scientific enlightenment, then again we find the finest cosmos-linked architecture in the world in Africa in the form of the Giza Pyramids. It is also in Africa that we find some of the oldest writings and rock art in the world (as old as 100 000 years in the Caledon Overberg area), and, today, the people of Africa live closer to nature than any other people in the world. We therefore have a limited influence on global warming and the destruction of the planet – a further indication of Africa’s advanced spiritual enlightenment. Whatever the origin of the negative label may have been, it cannot hold Africa back any longer. The people of this continent have been walking into the light during the past few decades. They have been enjoying the real natural light of Africa and have started to share in the wealth of the continent. The youth of Africa are leading the passage into the light, changing the continent from a sleepy jungle to a pulsating economic market. South Africans are at the forefront of this stampede into the light. The adversity of many generations of youths who grew up in families which had been denied opportunities has inculcated in them a unique, adventurous activating and artistic creative intelligence not found anywhere else in the world. South Africans have brought electricity, television broadcasting and cellular technology to many nations in Africa, thus bringing further enlightenment and helping those nations to leverage their economic resources. This dominant intelligence must now be cycled into all institutions with the means to create and cultivate an abundance of talent. South Africans have not yet developed full potency as a nation. In the context of change management dynamics we have formed as a team and are now storming – defining our power structure and accountabilities. The next phase will be to enter the norming phase – the phase in which we establish the norms and values that will guide and discipline the society. We need to go through the phases of storming and establishing norms before we can perform. We have not yet established 136

Talent Management

our truest interest as a nation and we are grappling with our skill and virtue intelligences. We are on a station somewhere between being prisoners of crime and liberators of explosive economic power. We may have a governing structure that is too complex and advanced for the maturity of the nation. We don’t have a dominant religion or education system that instils virtue. We are not yet sharing power amongst the ordinary man in the street, political royalty, business royalty, the clergy and the trade unions. As a nation we have not yet audited, calibrated and maximised our potential and institutional talent. We measure our economic potency and success by the number of cars sold in a year or the number of bank accounts we have. We don’t quote the number of teachers, engineers, doctors or electricians, carpenters or fitters produced when we talk about economic welfare. We are concerned by our slow rate of human capital formation as well as the creation and cultivation of talented people – we know we can take better care of our talent. We need a breakout achievement in talent management to reconcile ourselves with our unique state of political evolution and our cultural differences, and to help us with a critical assessment of our achievements as a nation. As a nation we are underachieving. We must break out of the comfort zone that comes with the fact that we are doing well economically, because the economy is growing at 5% or 6%. We must realise and appreciate that it is growth off a low base. We need to goal-set that it is South Africa’s role to serve the people of Africa and we must conceive, build and savour a strong faith that South Africa has been given the special task of spreading social virtue and spiritual enlightenment across Africa and into the world. This vision will inform the calibration of our economic potency. In pursuing economic breakout, our economic growth rate will be just one of the measures of a breakout achievement. We need to compare ourselves with rival economies in order to assess our potency and then determine how much opportunity there is for building our potency. Two countries have in recent decades coped well with legacies of interference and dominance by external political powers, which put them in a position similar to that of South Africa. Both countries have succeeded in breaking through the bonds that held them back and they are now two rising economic giants. The two countries are South Korea and Australia – refer to the comparison below. We need not invent a new trajectory of ascendancy – the paths to success are well known. We only need to agree on South Africa’s state of potency and on our nation’s truest interest and then select the skill and virtue intelligences that we must develop in order to build the national potency suited to a top achiever. The cold, hard facts reveal that South Africans need to engage in introspection, acknowledge the gap and accept the challenge of spreading the light across Africa. There are four areas that need urgent attention, viz. poverty, ignorance, indifference and recklessness. The following scorecard reveals some facts about South Africa’s economic potency: NATIONAL POTENCY SCORECARD METRICS (2005) Population size GDP GDP per capita Exports Economic growth rate Literacy rate Unemployment rate Competitiveness ranking Fortune Global 500

SOUTH AFRICA 47 million $239 billion $12 161 $50,9 billion 4,9% 82,4% 40% 45 Zero companies

SOUTH KOREA 48 million $793 billion $20 590 $288 billion 4,0% 97,9% 7% 24 12 companies

AUSTRALIA 20 million $708 billion $30 897 $103 billion 2.7% 99.9% 5% 19 8 companies

Source: Websites: CIA, World Economic Forum, Fortune Magazine

Chapter 21: Walking into the light - creating an abundance of talent

137

The potency scorecard reveals a South Africa with several comparative disadvantages: • A comparatively low GDP considering the size of the population and availability of natural resources • A comparatively low GDP per capita • A comparatively low export income value • A comparatively low literacy rate • A comparatively high unemployment rate • A low global competitiveness ranking • No South African companies qualified for the Fortune Global 500 rankings of the largest corporations in the world. In the past decades, the root cause of these weaknesses was ascribed to apartheid, a political ideology which denied people the opportunity to mine their talent. The new government has institutionalised social security, employment equity and empowerment policies that have made a difference to the lives of people, but what is needed now is an abundance of talent to build a juggernaut economy. We have now arrived at a juncture where we have to engineer a breakout economic achievement that will launch South Africa onto a new plane of broad-based prosperity – in other words, we must take the highway to prosperity. The creation of an abundance of talent will provide the lift-off, because it worked for other countries. We must entertain a supply-side strategy for development alongside a demand-side infrastructure investment strategy. We may be investing hundreds of billions of rand in infrastructure that we won’t have the talent to manage, thereby putting the economy at risk. A massive campaign to take stock of South Africa’s talent must be the starting point. We need a national talent audit – that is what South Korea’s Minister of Science and Technology instituted in the 1960s. The stock of talent in every line of employment was counted and graded to reveal any weaknesses in their talent muscle. The next step was to identify the industrial growth opportunities that would drive export growth based on the type of talent available. South Korea selected a simultaneous light labour-intensive manufacturing import substitution and export industrialisation strategy, set quotas for talent development and invested in the development of scientific brainpower to “build a system of mass production for higher scientific and technological brains”. In 1978, South Korea had 277 783 students enrolled at universities and colleges, of whom 71 288 were enrolled in engineering, 21 296 in science, 19 195 in medicine and pharmacy, 21 381 in agriculture and fisheries and 144 623 in humanities and social sciences (Choi, 1983: 237). Building South Africa’s potency and effecting an early breakout economic achievement would require a new type of political, economic and social leadership at all levels and in all spheres. The talent specification for leaders must be set with a view to building economic potency. We need leaders whose truest interest is to create an abundance of talent that will drive economic development. We need leaders with virtue intelligences that assure robust personal integrity and the wellness of the people. We need leaders with the skills intelligences that assure breakout achievements and economic potency in the industries we have the natural talent for.

138

Talent Management

A new set of national visions and targets must be formulated and managed to inspire the nation’s breakout socioeconomic achievement, such as the following: • The South African nation must inspire itself with a well-defined vision based on truest interest. South Africans have, through ages of adversity, developed a deep and unrivalled struggle mentality and empathy which positions us to become the virtue leaders of the continent. The freedom struggle must manifest itself in the creation of an abundance and diffusion of talent in and across African nations. A vision of continental leadership in talent management will inspire the continent into creating and cultivating talent. • South Africans must inspire themselves with a new set of virtue intelligences to safeguard their talent, social wellness and integrity. Peaks in the incidence of vice and social misconduct must be removed through education and protected with the help of social firewalls. A vision of continental leadership in virtue intelligence will instil respect on a broad base. The Japanese introduced quality circles into factories, businesses and institutions 40 years ago. At the time, Japan had a worldwide reputation for poor-quality products and services. The purpose of these quality circles was to build a culture of excellence, and, today, Japan is the world leader in manufacturing quality. Quality circles were small, voluntary groups of people who were taught problem-solving skills and were inspired to identify and solve product and process problems. South Africa has a problem with virtue intelligence and an international reputation for poor virtue. We can be innovative and inspire small-group activity in institutions so as to identify and solve virtue problems. Virtue circles in the public service, institutions or corporations will have the same effect as quality circles did. They will sensitise employees to the value of virtue and instil a virtuous culture that will spread into every facet of life. • South Africans must inspire themselves with a new set of national skills intelligences that will challenge local talent and accelerate the development of the nation’s adolescent potency. As a nation we have a natural affinity for entertainment and arousing emotion. Our athletic, artistic/creative and activating skills intelligences are unique in the world. We have an astute competence in high-end technologies management which is derived from strong abstract/analytical skill intelligence and we must leverage this to attain a vision of continental leadership in entertainment through technology. On a pragmatic level, South Africans will build on breakout economic achievement by taking the following steps: • Take stock of the demographics, talent and quality of employed and unemployed human capital in all areas of employment, and prepare an active talent profile. • Take stock of the demographics, quality and quantity of the talent that will flow into the labour market from schools and institutions of higher learning over the next 10 years, and prepare a future talent profile that will inform the nation of the industries that will be boosted by the configuration of this talent. • Assess the growth potential of the industries with the strongest affinity in respect of present and future talent configurations. • Select a critical mass of industries to accelerate, empower and build into world-class industries on the basis of the talent configurations.

Chapter 21: Walking into the light - creating an abundance of talent

139

• Establish a vision and specific goals for economic potency based on this selection. • Set quotas for the mass production of scientific and technological manpower and make the required investments in talent creation and cultivation. • Institute a deliberate national talent management programme covering all key industries. • Institute a virtue circle programme in all institutions which employ people. • Accelerate the cultivation of talent by introducing war-like TWI (training within industry). • Target and achieve a breakout achievement in talent management in every institution. The rest will be history. Talent will drive South Africa forward and transform it into a country with the skills and natural resources to burst onto the world economic scene.

140

Talent Management

ADDENDUM CALIBRATING YOUR TALENT No man is born into the world whose work is not born in him. There is always work and tools to work with for those who will. James Russell Lowell

MY TRUEST INTEREST Answer these questions to seek validation of your truest interest. Question 1

What mental activity do I intuitively indulge in that makes me feel alive and good?

ANSWER: Question 2

What physical activity do I intuitively indulge in that makes me feel alive and good?

ANSWER: Question 3

Looking at the world around me, in which area of social or economic activity would I be most happy because of what I can personally contribute and achieve?

ANSWER: Question 4 ANSWER:

Which unique contributions do I make that people respect and love me for?

Question 5 ANSWER:

What is my greatest unfulfilled dream?

Question 6 ANSWER:

Why is this my greatest unfulfilled dream?

Question 7 ANSWER:

What benefits will it have for me and other people?

Question 8 ANSWER:

Am I, in what I am doing now, working towards the realisation of that dream?

Question 9 ANSWER:

What should I be doing now towards the realisation of that dream?

Question 10 ANSWER:

How will I know that I have realised that dream?

Addendum: Calibrating your talent

141

ALPHA SKILL INTELLIGENCES – SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE Question No.

STATEMENT (My reality - personal view and assessment of myself)

Absolutely true (Score 5)

1

I like numbers and number puzzles

2

I give lots of thought to my career

3

I deliberately plan my monthly

4

I like to play card games with

5

I like a good debate with my friends

Not absolutely true (Score 3)

Almost never true (Score 1)

Absolutely untrue (Score 0)

budget friends and colleagues 6

I like to read articles and books on financial success

7

I usually make a decision only after

8

I follow the share prices in the

9

I have written articles that were

10

I usually try to fix things that break

considering the facts newspaper published around the house and the office Total 11

People usually react positively to my suggestions and proposals

12

I laugh easily when people are funny

13

I love making people laugh and

14

People are an inspiration to me

15

Sometimes I think more with my

16

I remember people I meet by their

keeping them happy

heart than with my head unique personal characteristics and features 17

A person’s dignity is the most

18

I love to talk to people all the time

19

I build a relationship with people

important aspect of life for me

over time

142

Talent Management

Question No.

STATEMENT (My reality - personal view and assessment of myself)

Absolutely true (Score 5)

20

Not absolutely true (Score 3)

Almost never true (Score 1)

Absolutely untrue (Score 0)

My biggest thrill comes from giving things to people Total

21

I love to create things with my hands

22

Music and pictures can instantly

23

Things of beauty are important

24

I have tried my hand at painting a

or mind change my mood to me landscape or portrait 25

I enjoyed my art lessons at school

26

I respect people who are artistic

27

The beauty of nature is an

28

I am presently earning an income

and I like being with them inspiration to me from an art or a craft, or would like to 29

I make a living from art or would

30

My biggest thrill comes from people

like to who enjoy my work Total 31

I presently participate in a

32

I was awarded school colours in

33

I was awarded club colours in

34

I was awarded national colours in a

competitive sport a sport a sport sport 35

I have participated in sport

36

I have considered a career in

37

I have always participated in some

38

I know my strongest athletic skill

internationally competitive sport form of sport

Addendum: Calibrating your talent

143

Question No.

STATEMENT (My reality - personal view and assessment of myself)

Absolutely true (Score 5)

39 40

Not absolutely true (Score 3)

Almost never true (Score 1)

Absolutely untrue (Score 0)

I know how much stamina I have I know how strong I am Total

41

I rely a lot on my intuition when confronted by challenges and opportunities

42

I have a clear vision for my life

43

I enjoy meditation and engage in

44

I know my personal strengths and

it to clear my thoughts weaknesses 45

I like the aroma of good food and wine

46

My hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell are really important sensing and learning faculties

47

I can smell people who come close to me

48

I can sense that something is going

49

I think about the future all the time

50

I can easily sense when people

to happen before it happens

are happy or annoyed Total

SCORING Alpha Skill Intelligence Abstracting/Analytical SI - Questions 1 to 10 Activating SI - Questions 11 to 20 Artistic/Creative SI - Questions 21 to 30 Athletic SI - Questions 31 to 40 Awareness (Sensing) SI - Questions 41 to 50 144

My score

Maximum score (my score x 2)

Index

50 50 50 50 50 Talent Management

BIBLIOGRAPHY Ali, H. (2002) More Than A Hero, Muhammad Ali’s Life Lessons. London: Hodder and Stoughton Allen, J. (2000) Michael Schumacher, Driven to Extremes. London: Bantam Books Ardrey, R. (1972) The Social Contract. London: The Fontana Library Ardrey, R. (1976) The Hunting Hypothesis. London: William Collins, Sons & Co Ltd Armstrong, L. (2001) It’s Not About The Bike, My Journey Back to Life. London: Yellow Jersey Press Assagioli, R. (1974) Act of Will, A Guide to Self-actualization and Self-realization. Wellingborough: (Eng) Turnstone Press Auchincloss, L. (1990) JP Morgan, The Financier as Collector. New York: Harry N Abrams Barlet, D. and Steele, J. (1976) Empire, The Life, Legend and Madness of Howard Hughes. London: André Deutsch Ltd Bates, N. (1976) Cecil Rhodes. East Sussex: Wayland Publishers Benson, H. and Proctor, W. (2003) Breakout Principle. New York: Schribner Berk, L. (1997) Child Development. Needham Height: Allyn and Bacon Bhaktivedanta, Swami Prabhupada. (1979) The Science of Self-realization. Cape Town: The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Bhaktivedanta, Swami Prabhupada. (1997) The Journey of Self-discovery. Los Angeles: The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Bicycling South Africa .(2004) ‘Lance Armstrong’, A special collector’s edition Birch, Silver (1938) – Edited by Austen, A.W. Tenth Impression 2002 - Teachings of Silver Birch. Surrey: The Spiritual Truth Press Bloom, H. (2002) Genius, One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds. New York: Warner Books Bodanis, D. (2001) E=MC2 Biography of Einstein. London: Pan Books Bower, T. (2000) Branson. London: Fourth Estate Ltd Branson, R. (2006) Screw It, Let’s Do It. London: Virgin Books Ltd Braunbeck, W. (1958) The Drama of the Atom (Ernest Rutherford). London: The Scientific Book Club Briggs Myers, I. (1980) Gifts Differing. Palo Alto CA: Consulting Psychologists Press Brizio, A.M., Zammatio, C. and Marinoni, A. (1980) Leonardo the Scientist. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company Brodie, F. (1975) Thomas Jefferson, An Intimate History. New York: Bantam Books Buchan, J. (1951) A History of the English Literature. London: Thomas Nelson and Dons Ltd Burckhardt, J. (1990) The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy. London: Penguin Classics Burstein, D. (2004) Secrets of the Code. London: Weidenfield and Nicolson Carnegie, Dale. (1984) How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. New York: Simon and Schuster Cartwright, (1964) The Dynamite Company – The Story Of Alfred Nobel. Johannesburg: Purnell and Sons Chang, R. and Morgan, M. (2000) Performance Scorecards. San Francisco: Jossey Bass Choi, H.S. (1983) Bases for Science and Technology Promotion in Developing Countries. Tokyo: Asian Productivity Organization Collins, J. and Porras, J. (1996) Built to Last, Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. London: Century Ltd Collins, J. (2001) Good to Great, Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t. London: Random House Covey, S. (1992) The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. London: Simon and Schuster Covey, S. (1999) Living the Seven Habits. London: Simon and Schuster Covey, S. (1994) First Things First. London: Simon and Schuster Covey, S. (2004) The Eighth Habit. London: Simon and Schuster Bibliography

145

Covey, S. (2006) Everyday Greatness. Tennesee: Rutledge Hill Press Cox, S. (2004) Cracking the Da Vinci Code. London: Michael O’Mara Books, Ltd Darwin, B. (1946) Dickens, A Short Biography. London: Duckworth Del Turco, L. (1966) Michelangiolo. Rome: Tipograpia, Fratelli Palombi Denison, D. (1990) Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness. New York: John Wiley and Sons Dertouzos, M., Lester, R. and Solow, R. (1990) Made In America - Regaining the Productive Edge. Cambridge: MIT Press Devilliers, P. (1969) Mao. London: Macdonald and Co Dotlich, D. and Cairo, P. (2003) Why CEOs Fail. San Francisco: Jossey Bass Drucker, P. (1993) Managing the Future. New York: Penguin Dyer, W. (2004) The Power of Intention. Carlsbad CA: Hay House Early, G. (1998) I’m a Little Special, A Muhammad Ali Reader. London: Yellow Jersey Press Edvinson, L. and Malone, M. (1997) Intellectual Capital. London: Harper Collins Business Books Eisner, B. (1994) Ecstacy, The MDMA Story. Berkeley: Ronin Publishing Ellis, K. (1974) Thomas Edison, Genius of Electricity. London: Priory Press Limited Enrico, Roger. (1986) The Other Guy Blinked, How Pepsi Won the Cola Wars. New York: Bantam Esterhuyse, W (2005) Anton Rupert, A Biography. Cape Town: Tafelberg Ferguson, M. (1986) The Aquarian Conspiracy. Oxford UK: Paladin Grafton Books Fitz-enz, J. (2000) The ROI of Human Capital. New York: AMACOM Fonteyn, M. (1975) Autobiography. London: WH Allen Franklin, B. (1867) The Autobiography 1790. New York: Books Inc. Freud, S. (2004) Mass Psychology. Modern Classics. London: Penguin Books Fukuyama, F. (2004) State Building, Governance and World Order in the 21st Century. London: Profile Books Gerstner, L. (2002) Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance? London: Harper Collins Giannini, A. and James, M.D. (2000) ‘Medical Director of Chemical Abuse Centers’, Inc., Austin Town, Canton and Columbus, Ohio, USA. (Magazine article - American Family Physician 2000; 61: 2763-74) Gibbs, P. (1965) Cecil Rhodes - The True Story. Chicago: Children’s Press Gilbert, D. (2007) Stumbling on Happiness. London: Harper Perennial Gilson, C., Pratt, M., Roberts, K. and Weymes, E. (2001) Peak Performance, Business Lessons from the World’s Top Sports Organizations. London: Harper Collins Goleman, D. (1996) Emotional Intelligence. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Gordimer, N. (1991) Jump and Other Stories. Claremont: David Philip Gove, P.B. (1986) Webster’s Third International Dictionary. USA: Springfield Greyvenstein, C. (1969) This Brutal Glory. Cape Town: Buren Publishers Guiliani, R. (2002) Leadership. London: Hyperion Hamel, G. (2000) Leading the Revolution. Boston: Harvard Business School Press Hamel, G. and Prahalad C. (1964) Competing for the Future. Boston: Harvard Business School Press Hammer, M. (2001) Agenda, What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade. London: Random House Hammer, M. and Champy J. (1993) Reengineering the Corporation, A Manifesto for Business Revolution. London: Nicholas Brealy Handy, C. (1990) The Age of Unreason. London: Arrow Books Hartman, A. (2004) Ruthless Execution, What Business Leaders Do When Their Companies Hit the Wall. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Harvard Business Review on Turnarounds. (2001) Boston: Harvard Business School Press Heydenreich, L., Dibner, B. and Reti, L. (1980) Leonardo the Inventor. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company Hill, N. (1960) Think and Grow Rich. New York: Fawcet Crest Hirsh, S. and Kummerow, J. (1989) Life Types. New York: Warner Books

146

Talent Management

Hotchner, A.E. (1979) Sophia Living and Loving (Biography of Sophia Loren). New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc Hoyt, E. (1963) The Vanderbilts and Their Fortunes. London: Frederick Muller Ltd Hubbard, L. (1983) Self Analysis. Copenhagen: New Era Publications Huysamen, G. (1982) Psychological Measurement. Pretoria: H7R Academica Iacocca, L. (1984) Iacocca, An Autobiography. Toronto: Bantam Books Ilbury, C. and Sunter, C. (2001) The Mind of a Fox. Cape Town: Human and Rousseau Tafelberg Imai, M. (1986) Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success. New York: McGraw-Hill Ingram, C. (2003) In the Footsteps of Gandhi. Berkeley: Parallax Press International Library of Famous Literature, (1851 – 1899). Edited Richard Garnett CB LLD. London: Edward Lloyd Ltd Jaconson, G. and Hillkirk, J. (1986) XEROX American Samurai. New York: Macmillan Publishing Johnstone, I. (2006) Tom Cruise, All the World’s a Stage. London: Hodder and Stoughton Kanter, R. (1985) The Change Masters, Corporate Entrepreneurs At Work. London: Unwin Paperbacks Kaplan, R. and Norton, D. (1996) The Balanced Scorecard. Boston: Harvard Business School Press Kaplan, R. and Norton, D. (2001) The Strategy Focused Organization. Boston: Harvard Business School Press Katzenbach, J. and Smith, D. (1993) The Wisdom of Teams, Creating the High-Performance Organization. Boston: Harvard Business Press Kimbro, D. (1998) What Makes the Great Great. New York: DoubleDay Kolakowski, L. (1981) The Main Currents of Marxism. Oxford: Oxford University Press Kotter, J.P. (1996) Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business Press Kotter, J.P. (2002) The Heart of Change, Real-life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations. Boston: Harvard Business Press Levinson, D.J. (1978) The Seasons of a Man’s Life. New York: Ballantine Books Longenecker, C.O. and Simonetti, J. (2001) Getting Results. University of Michigan Business School. San Francisco: Jossey Bass Ludwig, A.M. (1995) The Price of Greatness. New York: Guilford Press Luhabe, W. (2002) Defining Moments – Experiences of Black Executives in South Africa’s Workplace. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press Mandela, N. (2004) In the Words of Mandela. Edited Jenniifer Crwys-Williams. Johannesburg: Penguin Books Maxwell, John. (2002) The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Maxwell, John. (1998) The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Millman, D. (2005) The Journey of Socrates. London: Harper Collins Publishers Mohrman, A. et al. (1990) Large-scale Organizational Change. Oxford: Jossey Bass Montgomery, R. (1966) A Gift of Prophecy. London: Arthur Baker Ltd. Moore, C. (1982) Executives in Action. Plymouth: Hollen Street Press Morehouse, L. and Gross, L. (1980) Maximum Performance. London: Granada Publishing Morris, D. (1969) The Human Zoo. London: The Literary Guild Morton, A. (2001) Madonna. London: Michael O’Mara Books Nichol, C. (2004) Leonardo da Vinci, The Flights of the Mind. London: Penguin Books Nienaber, P., Goosen, D., Le Roux, T., Bosman,F. and Victor, J. (1965) Gedenkboek Generaal JBM Hertzog. Johannesburg: Afrikaanse Pers Boekhandel Olve, N., Roy, J. and Wetter, M. (1999) Performance Drivers. New York: Wiley Peale, N. (1971) The New Art of Living. New York: World’s Work Ltd Peltola, E. (1992) Talent Identification. New studies in Athletics. London, 7(3), Sept 1992, p.7, http://www.bath.ac.uk/sports/foundation/judo/Tracy%20Rea-Talant%20Identification%20 (R. Burgess).doc Peters, T. and Waterman, R. (1982) In Search of Excellence. New York: Harper and Row Piaf, Edith. (1965) The Wheel of Fortune, An Autobiography. London: Mayflower Peter Own

Bibliography

147

Prichard, D. (2001) Hearing Grasshoppers Jump, The Story of Raymand Ackerman. Cape Town: David Philip Publishers Pritchard, A. (1972) The World Champions, Farina to Fitipaldi. Leslie Frewin. London: Publishers Quinn, J. (1992) Intelligent Enterprise. New York: The Free Press Rasiel, E. (1999) The McKinsey Way. New York: McGraw-Hill Reader’s Digest. (1965) Great Lives, Great Deeds. London: Reader’s Digest Association Reck, R. (2001) The X-Factor, Getting Extraordinary Results from Ordinary People. New York: John Wiley and Sons Reid, R. (1974) Marie Curie, A Biography. London: William Collins Sons and Co Robbins, A. (2001) Unlimited Power, The New Science of Personal Achievement. London: Simon and Schuster Roxborough, I. (1979) Theories of Underdevelopment. London: The Macmillan Press Rupert, A. (1967) Wie in Wondere Glo. Johannesburg: Nasional Boekhandel Sachs, J. (2005) The End of Poverty, How We Can Make It Happen In Our Lifetime. London: Penguin Books Schreiner, Olive. (1992) Thoughts on South Africa. Parklands: AD Donker Publisher Schumacher, E. (1973) Small Is Beautiful, A Study of Economics as if People Mattered. London: Penguin Books Scully, J. (1988) Odyssey, Pepsi to Apple. Glasgow: William Collins Senge, P. (1990) The Fifth Discipline. New York: DoubleDay Sharp, W. (1931) Great English Painters. London: Walter Scott Simpson, G. (1959) The Meaning of Evolution. New York: Yale University Press Skinner, B. (1974) About Behaviourism. London: Jonathan Cape Smith, A. (1999) The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Washington, DC: Gateway Editions Smith, R., Sarason, I. and Sarason, B. (1978) Psychology, The Frontiers of Behavior. New York: Harper and Row Smuts, J. (1942) Plans for a Better Future. London: Hodder and Stoughton Sorensen, T. (1965) Kennedy. London: Pan Books Spence, J. (1999) Mao. London: Weidenfeld and Nickholson Steward, T. (1999) Intellectual Capital. London: Nicholas Breakly Publishing Stone, I. (1971) The Passions of the Mind. Sigmund Freud. London: Cassel and Co Strouse, J. (2000) Morgan - American Financier. Cambridge: Harper Collins Sutermeister, A. (1969) People and Productivity. New York: McGraw-Hill Suzman, H. (1993) In No Uncertain Terms, Memoirs. Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball Thompson, K. (1998) Emotional Capital. Oxford: Capstone Tichy, N. and Sheman, S. (1993) Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will. New York: Doubleday Ulrich, D. (1997) Human Resources Champions. Boston: Harvard School Press Ulrich, D., Zenger, J. and Smallwood, N. (1999) Results-based Leadership. Boston: Harvard Business School Press Watson, L.E. (1951) Light From Many Lamps. New York: Simon and Schuster Watson, T. (1990) Father, Son & Co. My Life at IBM and Beyond. New York: Bantam Welch, J. (2001) Jack, What I Have Learnt Leading a Great Company and Great People. London: Warner Books Williams, R. (2002) Enzo Ferrari, A Life. London: Yellow Jersey Press Wing, R.L. (1988) The Art of Strategy. London: The Aquarian Press Yeung, R. (2000) Coaching People. Oxford: How To Books

148

Talent Management

INDEX A Abstract analytical skill intelligence – 139 Abundance – 6, 11, 18, 23, 30, 77, 136, 138-139 Achievement matrix – 81 Achievers – 2, 8, 13, 21, 28-29, 35, 40, 75, 84, 92, 113, 129 Action learning – 21 Activating skill intelligence – 46-49 Adler, Alfred – 12, 17, 121 Alpha skill intelligence – 8-9, 33-34, 45-47, 68, 142, 144 Ardrey, Robert – 17, 122 Armstrong, Lance – 43, 72, 74, 83, 115 Artistic – 6, 8, 35, 39, 46-51, 68, 136, 139, 143-144 Artistic creative skill intelligence – 49 Assessment – 2, 16, 23, 65, 67, 130, 132, 137, 142-144 Athletic skill intelligence – 46, 50-51 Australia – 137 Awareness skill intelligence – 51-52

B Balance – 6, 50, 55, 102 Balanced Scorecard – 24, 60, 71, 131 Beatles – 83, 90 Best practice – 2, 16-8, 20, 22, 71 Birch, Silver – 14, 98, 127 Blake, Peter – 89 Branson, Richard – 122, 136 Breakout achievement – 8, 22, 23, 63, 69, 72-86, 88-91, 100-101, 103, 114, 119-120, 131, 133, 137-138, 140 Buffet, Warren – 93

C Calibration – 2, 16-17, 21-22, 30, 33, 47, 49, 51-52, 71, 118, 122 - 124, 127-130, 137 Career exhibitions – 19, 30 Career interest and skill intelligence – 67, 68 Caring – 17, 22, 24, 25, 29, 36, 39, 43, 56, 57, 71, 97, 98, 103, 133 Coaching – 10, 15, 17-19, 22, 25-26, 29-30, 43, 60-62, 66, 71, 115, 117 Community – 14, 30, 38, 45, 53, 89, 109, 114, 125 Competitiveness – 2, 26, 30, 34, 47, 77, 78, 83, 85, 124, 137-138 Creative – 2-4, 6, 8, 15, 19-21, 46-51, 68, 73-74, 76, 78, 85, 104, 120, 127, 136, 139, 144 Crime – 12, 14, 42, 84, 125, 128, 137 Culture – 9, 13, 19, 21-22, 26, 30, 40, 43, 60, 62, 65, 71, 77, 81, 89, 91, 108-109, 126, 129, 130, 138-139 Curie, Marie – 28, 82

D Da Vinci, Leonardo – 42, 43, 120 Deliberate practice – 1, 18, 27, 33, 59, 69, 97, 117, 118, 130 Dickens, Charles – 35, 43 Downshift – 13 Drugs – 13, 14, 99-101

E Edison, Thomas – 7, 120 Education and training – 3, 11, 29 Els, Ernie – 42, 128 Employee engagement – 24-25, 65 Empowerment – 7, 17, 24, 40, 75, 80-82, 84, 85, 120, 128, 138 Enlightenment – 13, 136-137 Enron – 15 Entertainment – 7, 35, 40, 42, 75, 80-86, 90, 122, 128, 132, 139 Excellence – 8, 12, 22, 40, 62, 63, 82, 84, 124, 127, 139 Exercise – 3, 24, 36, 50, 54, 98, 99, 101, 132-133

F Ferrari – 17, 91 Forbes – 2, 13, 34, 82-83, 93-95, 129

Index

149

Forced ranking – 20-23, 59, 64-66, 130 Ford – 28, 30, 42, 79, 82, 87, 121 Foresight – 40 Fortune – 2, 16, 19, 34, 40, 48-49, 64, 68, 79, 86, 88-90, 92-94, 110, 137-138 Franklin, Benjamin – 44, 55, 56, 82

G Gates, Bill – 28, 82, 92, 93, 122, 129 General Electric – 15, 34, 84, 105 General Motors – 13, 79, 86 Giza pyramids – 136 Goals – 3, 13, 23-24, 53, 60-61, 64, 70, 83, 87, 90, 91, 100, 103, 107, 129, 131-133, 136, 140 Gordimer, Nadine – 15, 82 Governance – 16, 94 Great achievers – 2, 8, 28, 40, 113 Greatness – 1, 2, 7, 12, 53, 106-108, 112, 114-115, 117, 120, 126, 130 Great people – 2-5

H Hines, James – 85 Human capital – 11, 16, 18-19, 30, 137 Human resources (HR) - 20, 68

I Inspirational dream – 89, 90 Inspirational players – 88, 89

J James, William – 12 Job – 12, 13, 14, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 43, 60, 62, 64, 66, 67, 110, 124, 127, 129, 130, 131 Jobs, Steve – 28, 78, 88, 90

K King, Don – 4 Knight, Phil – 48-49 Knowledge – 10, 14, 20, 22, 25-26, 29, 41-42, 45, 54, 60, 62, 67-68, 75, 82, 99, 100, 107, 112-114, 118, 119, 127

L Leading companies – 19-21 Liberation – 7, 80-82, 84 Ludwig, Arnold – 2, 120

M Madonna – 83 Management – 10, 13, 15-17, 21-24, 41-42, 62, 64-65, 71, 77, 87, 89, 122, 136 Mandela, Nelson – 2, 34, 56, 57, 78, 80, 82 Maslow, Abraham – 6, 12 Master – 3, 7, 17, 67, 77-78, 83, 118-120, 122 Measuring – 20, 33, 41, 47, 71, 84-86, 115, 131 Meditation – 72, 99-100, 104, 133, 144 Michelangelo – 8, 42, 77, 80, 115, 120 Mittal, Lakshmi – 94 Morgan, JP – 82 Motivation – 12, 23, 47, 61, 69, 70, 71, 77, 106, 107, 112, 114, 124, 131-132

N Neurotransmitter – 74, 100 Newton, Isaac – 2 Nike – 48, 49, 90 Nitric oxide – 73-74 Norms – 8, 71, 75, 82, 84, 137 Nutrition – 24, 86, 98-99, 102-103, 133

O Organisation – 9, 20-25, 30-31, 46, 57, 62, 64-65, 71, 77, 78, 88-90, 101, 110

150

Talent Management

P Parents – 3, 5, 9, 11, 17, 28-29, 42, 67, 114, 118 Passion for learning – 3 Peak experience – 14, 43, 72-76 Performance management – 23, 64-65, 72, 130 Personal mastery – 5, 8, 9, 13, 17, 26, 29, 42-44, 117-119, 123-124, 128-132 Philosophy – 13, 26, 38, 79, 98, 117, 119, 122 Piaf, Edith – 114-115 Politics – 42, 107 Poverty – 3, 13-14, 80-82, 99-100, 133, 137 Practice – 1-2, 6, 16-20, 22, 27, 33, 43, 59-60, 62, 64-65, 69, 97, 111, 117-119, 128-130 Project – 2-3, 14, 21-25, 60, 70, 72, 87, 92, 129

R Rat race – 13 Rembrandt – 8, 94 Research – 2, 6, 12, 15, 40, 42, 72-73, 120 Revolution – 40 Rossi, Valentino – 83 Rupert, Anton – 94-95

S Schumacher, Michael – 17, 42, 74, 83, 98, 110, 122 Scorecard – 24, 60, 71, 120, 131, 137-138 Sense senses – 6-8, 14, 17, 24, 30, 38, 40, 44-45, 51, 57, 61, 71-73, 89, 98-99, 103-104, 106, 108, 110, 114-116, 122, 125, 144 Skill intelligence – 9, 45-52, 67-68, 139, 144 Society – 2-3, 7, 12-13, 16, 37-40, 46, 53, 74, 77-82, 84, 89, 107-110, 114, 128, 133, 137 South Africa – 8, 11, 15, 35, 48, 56, 78, 82-84, 89, 94, 110, 115, 137-140 South Korea – 11, 137, 138 Spiritual wellness – 41, 45, 77, 98, 102-104, 112-115, 132-133 Strategic intent – 23 Strategy – 14, 23, 70, 71, 78, 86-87, 93-94, 119, 126, 131, 138 Survival – 17, 20, 39, 40-41, 45-46, 51, 53, 84, 119, 123

T Talent, a definition – 6 Talent calibration – 2, 16, 21, 33, 51, 128, 129-130 Talent care – 66 Talent coaching – 26 Talent creation – 11, 18, 22, 27, 28, 71, 140 Talent cultivation – 11, 22, 59, 62 Talent equity – 2, 21 Talent leverage – 62 Talent management, definition – 17 Teachers – 3, 9, 17, 28-29, 35, 104, 107, 114, 118, 137 Toyota Motor Company – 86 Training – 3, 11, 18, 29, 46, 50, 51, 54, 60, 65, 73, 75, 78, 80, 102, 115, 140

U US Declaration of Independence – 82 Utilisation – 16, 45

V Violence/non-violence – 40, 105

W Water – 85, 102 Wellness management – 41 Wellness of people – 84 Wellness programme – 24, 110 Winning companies – 18-19 Wisdom – 2, 25, 53, 54, 57, 81, 107, 119, 127-128, 130, 132 Woods, Tiger – 17, 42, 83, 128 Winfrey, Oprah – 34, 83

Y Yoga – 102 Youth programming – 3

Index

151