Strategic Assesments (1)
Master Sun: “Military action is important to the nation, it is the ground of death and life, the path of survival and destruction, so it is important to examine it.”
Du Mu writes: “The survival or destruction of a country and the life and death of its people may depend on military action, so it is necessary to examine it carefully.”
Mei Yaochan writes: “Whether you live or die depends on the configuration of the battleground, whether you survive or perish depends on the way of battle.”
Adaptation: In the Art of War for Talent, strategists see recruiting as a military action that determines the ultimate failure or success of the enterprises they serve. Recognizing this they approach Talent Warfare with a deep appreciation of the implications of their work.
Recruiting is nothing less than bringing new life to a community. Organizations can renew themselves through recruiting. Organizations define themselves through selection. Organizations develop the wisdom that is transmitted to new hires and succeeding generations through retention.
Therefore, skillful Talent Strategists do not take their work lightly. Nor do they allow others to do so. They understand that whether the enterprise will rise or fall depends on the development and execution of effective Talent Strategy.
They painstakingly learn the way of strategy and carefully examine their craft within the context of organizational life and death. They do this while inwardly assuming responsibility for the welfare of the community whose interests they are pledged to advance through effective recruitment and selection.
Application: Embrace the strategic view of Talent Warfare. Begin with an understanding that if you fail at the strategic level, your tactics will be flawed, and your operations will fall into disarray.
The key hires made on your watch will have an impact on corporate culture. The recruitment process and its products (the people you hire) can be regarded as acts of organizational self-definition. You and your recruiting team are either actively engaged in shaping the destiny of your organization, or you are cogs in a wheel that may be turning but not going anywhere at all.
Convince yourself that there is no work that is more vital to the achievement of your employer’s goals than attracting and retaining the people who will execute senior management’s vision for the enterprise. Align your efforts with business outcomes and develop a deep appreciation of the implicit congruity of strategic business planning and the way of the Talent Warrior.
This entry was posted on Friday, July 27th, 2007 at 7:27 am and is filed under The Art of War for Talent. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
â€Fantastic post, Don. Your adaptation is very clever.
I love it!
Undoubtedly, the wisdom of the Masters in matters of warfare is an excellent source of inspiration for those who study such things. I am sure I am not alone in saying some of us welcome a deeper and more thought provoking reading of an otherwise tired metaphor.
My fear is that the majority are inspired by actual war stories more than reflection, guided perhaps by the words of the unknown corporal who, surviving the mustard gas and the shrapnel and the mud of trench warfare, emerged from his WWI bunker — covered in gore — to enthusiastically rally the remnants of his troop, shouting:
â€C’mon lads! We’re all but there! All is left us is to count the dead and bayonet the wounded!â€
In the struggle for life surely the war for talent is nothing more than a battle. It takes this depth of thinking to win the battles that we face not only on the talent-front but in life in general.
Thank you for your leadership, Don.â€
Beautifully written. I especially appreciate that you move away from the black and white, right and wrong aspects of war or competition. The answer is in seeing clearly, understanding the consequences of your actions for yourself and others, and searching deeply for solutions that don’t appear on the surface. An often overlooked approach to conflict is that both sides are right. And that there are many right ways to do almost anything.
Congratulations on a wonderful idea and a wise and insightful approach.