"Engineering Management Thought of the Week" Jeff Glass

Today I would like to blog about the advice to “go for the talent”. What I mean by this is simply that whenever you have a chance to work with someone or to hire someone, you should go for the most talented person that you can find. This might seem obvious but you would be surprised how often it is not the case. For example, sometimes the most talented person is not the perfect fit for the position or the project but even if that is the case, I would still encourage you to choose the most talented, brightest individual. They will learn what they need to and will provide lasting benefit to your organization. Of course, talent is not always easy to determine or to measure and should include how to get things done in an organization (i.e., not just technical talent but also how well someone works with other people to accomplish things). But too often I see people making choices based on how well someone fits a very specific content for a position or other extraneous parameters which will not ultimately determine how valuable the individual will be in your organization or to your project. A good example is how we hired a consultant over 5 years ago for the MEM program when Dr. Fox and I first came to Duke. The consultant was Ms. Julianne Goss (now Julianne Sachs) who, at the time, did not have much experience in our areas of need and had no “brand name company” on her resume. However, we knew that she was extremely talented and we knew that she had a passion for team training and leadership development. So we decided that we should hire her as the team trainer for our MEMP orientation. As they say, “the rest is history”.

Shortly after she began work with the MEM program she was hired into the HR department at the Timken Company. Coincidentally, I held an endowed professorship sponsored by the Timken Foundation while I was on the faculty at Case Western University and I knew that their human resource activities were first rate. She continued working with us while being employed by the Timken Co., each year providing our team training and expanding it as needed and as the MEM program grew. She then moved to New York and worked for Merrill Lynch as a vice president in their HR department, further solidifying our wise decision to bring her on board as a consultant for the MEMP prior to this exceptional experience and brand name employment. As I am sure you know, Merrill Lynch was purchased by the Bank of America over a year ago during the financial meltdown, presumably (on the surface anyway) putting Ms. Sachs in a tenuous position. Well, we just heard this past week that despite the trials and tribulations of the financial industry and Merrill Lynch, Ms. Sachs has been promoted to Senior Vice President at the Bank of America. Yes, at a time when many people are being laid off from their positions and mergers are causing downsizing of groups like Merrill Lynch as it was purchased by the Bank of America, Ms. Sachs has achieved a countercyclical career trajectory and has undergone a significant promotion. She continues to work with us and in fact is expanding her role by assisting Professor Ted Ryan with the redevelopment of our core management course (all while maintaining her full time position with Bank of America of course!). Clearly, if we waited to hire Ms. Sachs as a consultant for the MEM program now, after her experience and brand name employment with some of the best HR groups in the country, we would have a much slimmer chance of getting her assistance and we would have missed the opportunity to obtain her input for the past 5 years!

A corollary to this suggestion regarding hiring talent is the following; “hire people that are smarter than you”. The most secure managers I have known and worked with, make it a point to find the smartest, most passionate people they can find and are entirely unafraid that someone will be smarter than they are and will end up challenging them for the next promotion. In fact, the best managers welcome this opportunity and encourage it. They realize that if someone is smarter and better, then that person should have the next promotion. You can continue to learn from them after the promotion and they can help you with your career development. A better fit for a different position will come along later if you lose out during such a competition. And hiring someone better than you are and smarter than you are, will always make you look good both at the hiring stage as well as throughout their time with the company.

So I encourage you to find your niche where you are an exceptional talent in an organization but do not be afraid to hire more talented people below you. And don’t worry about the brand name or exactly the right experience when looking for someone to work with or when hiring someone – find a talented, smart individual and you will benefit both yourself and your organization. Ms. Sachs is a great example for the MEMP.