This book focuses on the following two questions: What do the most talented employees need from their workplace? and How do the world’s greatest managers find, focus and keep talented employees?
The authors answer these questions with the following framework: 1. Select for Talent, 2. Define the Right Outcomes, 3. Focus on Strengths, and 4. Find the Right Fit.
One story I really like from the book that demonstrates these concepts is about Dennis Rodman. He was an excellent basketball player, especially in rebounding, but he also had a reputation for being wild, unpredictable and difficult to work with. When he first started playing for the Chicago Bulls, he ended up missing or getting kicked out of many games for various infractions. When it came time to write a new contract, he was offered “one of the most incentive-laden contacts in the history of the NBA. Rodman was guaranteed $4.5 million. He would receive another $5 million if he stayed out of trouble for the duration of the season; another $500,000 for winning the rebounding title for the seventh time; and another $100,000 for having a positive assist-to-turnover ration…. It worked for Rodman and the Chicago Bulls. By the end of the season Rodman had missed only one game for disciplinary reasons. He had won the rebounding title for the seventh time. He had 230 assists versus 147 turnovers. And the Bulls won the championship.”
The lesson from this story is to identify a person’s strengths, define the outcomes that play to those strengths, find a count or rank those outcomes, and let the person run.
For more details entire book, check out this video: