http://blog.SmartTopgrading.com How to interview, hire, and coach high performance teams Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:26:57 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en  Topgrading for Sales (Portfolio, June 2008) was reviewed in Inc. Magazine's June issue.  It received a "rigor rating" of 9 on a 10-point scale, right up there with Jim Collin's Good to Great.  The book is Brad's latest work and is co-authored by Greg Alexander, a highly-successful sales executive and ... http://blog.SmartTopgrading.com/topgrading-for-sales-reviewed-in-inc-magazine/2008/06/09/ For those Human Resources professionals out there who want to implement Topgrading but are having a tough time convincing "the organization" it is worth the time and money, here is a suggestion that may help you significantly.  Figure out how much value a Topgrading Initiative will add to the bottom line ... http://blog.SmartTopgrading.com/topgrading-improves-your-bottom-line/2008/05/14/ Though some clients are sticking with the categories A, B, and C player, many have simply begun discussing whether someone is an A player, has the potential to become an A player on a timely basis (usually within a year), or is a non-A player without A potential.  Based on Topgrading's ... http://blog.SmartTopgrading.com/a-couple-of-recent-topgrading-trends/2008/04/29/ Figuring out how many A players are in your organization is a fantastic way to gauge the success of your Topgrading efforts.  However, without doing Topgrading assessments on all of your employees, accurately putting people into those categories can be challenging. Aric Dershem, Vice President of People Development at National Heritage ... http://blog.SmartTopgrading.com/how-many-a-players-do-you-have/2008/04/28/ Those of you who have read the latest edition of Topgrading may remember that the statistics on promoting success are as dismal as those on hiring success.  Why?  Too many promotions are based on the candidate's performance in their present job.  The candidate's strengths and weaknesses in relation to the new ... http://blog.SmartTopgrading.com/scrutinize-candidates-for-promotion-as-thoroughly-as-external-candidates-for-hire/2008/04/25/ A recent book, Hard Facts: Dangerous Half-Truths & Total Nonsense, included Topgrading. What an honor! Ooops -- it's a critical review! Oh, no, after three decades of helping companies improve from 25% to 90% high performers hired, the "fact" is -- Topgrading is all "BS?" (my initials, ... http://blog.SmartTopgrading.com/topgrading-lacks-facts/2008/04/18/ I had the opportunity to speak with Marlis Oliver earlier this week. Marlis is the Area Director of K & N Management in Austin, Texas; K & N Management owns four Rudy’s BBQ & Country Stores in the Austin area. Marlis has been instrumental in transforming K & N into ... http://blog.SmartTopgrading.com/should-you-topgrade-entry-level-positions/2008/04/17/ It is possible to hone your skills as a Topgrading interviewer and still not achieve the level of success in hiring and promoting you expect. "How could that possibly be?" you ask. If you do not spend some time early on in the selection process defining what A ... http://blog.SmartTopgrading.com/define-what-an-a-player-is-before-you-begin-the-selection-process/2008/04/04/ As the cover article ("Get Your A Players Here") in Workforce Management (March 3, 2008), suggests, A Players are winners and Topgrading is the way to get them.  As soon as they release the pdf we'll post the article.  This week people have read the article and I've gotten a bunch ... http://blog.SmartTopgrading.com/how-a-players-fail/2008/03/15/ This is in the "what's new in topgrading" category.  In May, 2008, the latest of our books, Topgrading for Sales: World-Class Methods to Interview, Hire, and Coach Top Sales Representatives will be released by Portfolio.  Although the basic concepts are standard, I thought you might be interested in knowing: it's short -- ... http://blog.SmartTopgrading.com/topgrading-for-sales-is-launched/2008/03/02/