I always start a new search project with the hiring manager with this question, "What does the person in this role need to do to be successful over the course of the first year?" This always produces 5-6 key action-oriented performance objectives like, "Build and lead...
We know that our best hires are people we’ve worked with before, internal promotions, and candidates highly referred by someone we trust. The reason is obvious. We know their past performance, how they fit with the team and culture and whether they take personal...
In 1944, engineers started circulating a brilliantly satirical technical description. The "turbo encabulator" supposedly used "a base plate of prefabulated amulite" to achieve "reciprocation of dingle arms to prevent side fumbling." The joke? It was complete gibberish...
This is a true story. More important: It's one you get to write. It will take place sometime in the next 12 months. Maybe at your company. Maybe in your department. It could be your story. Or not. That's up to you. Let's begin. It's about two moles we'll call them...
(Inspired by my 9 year-old granddaughter who wanted to proudly show her "Papa Lou" what she had just built.) Minecraft for Management: Building High Performing Teams, Not Just Filling Seats Minecraft became the bestselling video game in history by measuring one thing:...
I recently heard a great story on Instagram about how Steve Jobs classified employees using an ABC model. It’s based on a simple but powerful metric: how managers feel when someone resigns. When an A-player resigns managers feel terrible, knowing this person will be...
I recently heard a great story on Instagram about how Steve Jobs classified employees using an ABC model. It’s based on a simple but powerful metric: how managers feel when someone resigns. When an A-player resigns managers feel terrible, knowing this person will be...
As this research report points out, the most predictive factor in hiring success isn't credentials, experience, or skills – it's the degree of connectedness between candidates and the organization. The graphic above reveals an uncomfortable truth. Internal mobility...
Note: Be sure to attend our next "Moneyball for HR!" webcast. Attendees get some great complimentary gifts including a talking hiring bobblehead and a very neat "Moneyball for Hiring" scorecard you can use to see if you're losing good candidates for bad reasons....
Is This the Future We've Been Waiting For, or Just Another Buzzword? As reviewed by a Fortune 500 CHRO with 20+ years in talent leadership Note: I asked Claude to review the full Vibe Recruiting manual from the perspective of the CHRO of a Fortune 500 company. The...
June 29, 2025 A provocative new article from Towards Data Science, "Stop Chasing 'Efficiency AI.' The Real Value Is in 'Opportunity AI,'"challenges conventional thinking about AI implementation in enterprises. Author Shreshth Sharma argues that while most...
A person’s “soft skills” can’t be measured by some simple test despite what some test seller might tell you. Snake oil has a better track record when you add false positives (passed the screen but failed the reality) and false negatives (failed the screen but passed...
For more than two decades, Gallup has reported on the state of employee engagement in the U.S. The data has been remarkably consistent — and remarkably disheartening. As of 2024, only 31% of employees are engaged in their work, while 17% are actively disengaged. The...
For more than two decades, Gallup has reported on the state of employee engagement in the U.S. The data has been remarkably consistent — and remarkably disheartening. As of 2024, only 31% of employees are engaged in their work, while 17% are actively disengaged. The...
The talent game has changed. You don’t win by hiring fast — you win by hiring right. Here’s why the smartest companies are adopting a Moneyball mindset for hiring top performers. The hiring game is changing. Rapidly. And there's little time for talent leaders to catch...
Let’s be frank. HR tech stacks look impressive on paper and in the demo, but are a money and resource pit in practice. Companies have all of the tools: ATS, CRM, sourcing platforms, assessments, interview schedulers… but still can’t seem to hire better, faster, or...
In Part 5 of this continuing story Johan and Alice asked their latest AI model how to rebuild their hiring processes from scratch by benchmarking how the best hiring managers hired the best people, how recruiters found these people and how the strongest candidates changed jobs. Here’s the actual prompt they used and response suggesting Top Grading, Who and Performance-based Hiring as great starting points. Most important, it describes the importance of using AI for massive change, rather than modest efficiency gains.
It was the best of choices, it was the worst of choices, it was the age of enlightenment, it was the age of willful blindness, it was the epoch of transformation, it was the epoch of stagnation. Before us lay two paths in the realm of talent acquisition: one where...
FYI: This story takes place in about six months. It could be yours. The moral: HR leaders need to step up and embrace AI, data analytics and and financial analysis. Thinking like a CFO will become the next HR super skill. That’s “Moneyball for HR!”
As part of our upcoming “Moneyball for HR! – No More Turnover” series of webcast I decided to run a quick test. In this case I converted this job posting for a $150K product marketing manager job at LinkedIn into a more compelling performance-based job description. It...