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Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching and Keeping the Best People

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Author: Bradford D. Smart
Publisher: Portfolio
Category: Book

List Price: ~~Ł18.99~~
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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

12 reviews
Sales Rank: 52950

Media: Hardcover
Edition: Rev. Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 592
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.9

ISBN: 1591840813
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.4
EAN: 9781591840817
ASIN: 1591840813

Publication Date: September 25, 2008 (In 63 Days)
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days

Also Available In:

•	Hardcover - Topgrading: Proven Method for Hiring and Firing Teams
•	Hardcover - Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching and Keeping the Best People
•	Hardcover - Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping the Best People, Revised and Updated Edition
•	Paperback - Topgrading (How To Hire, Coach and Keep A Players)

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.co.uk Review
The key to building a superior company, an increasing number of observers now agree, is the ongoing ability to recruit and retain superior personnel. In Topgrading, industrial psychologist and global consultant Bradford Smart expands upon this idea by examining in great detail exactly how today's premier organisations have assembled such top-level employees, and then showing precisely how others can do it, too. "Simply put, topgrading is the practice of packing the team with A players and clearing out the C players," Smart writes. "A players is defined as the top 10 percent of talent available at all salary levels--best of class. With this radical definition, you are not a topgrader until your team consists of all A players. Period." Essentially a best-practices manual for developing this outstanding personnel pool, the book is based on more than 4,000 interviews and case studies conducted by Smart at major corporations like General Electric as well as fast-growing high-tech companies and small family-owned firms. He further bolsters its effectiveness by including his extensive "Chronological In-Depth Structured Interview Guide," along with other assessment tools and hands-on strategies for assembling an ideal work team. --Howard Rothman, Amazon.com

Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...

1 out of 5 stars

Create a master race! October 23, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

This book tells you how to get rid of "C-grade" employees, and even has a chapter on avoiding litigation. Not a particularly nice way of going about your business but the theory is it helps your bottom line...

5 out of 5 stars

I was hopeless at recruiting until I read this April 14, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Until I read this book, I was hopeless at recruiting. I would ask the usual interview questions - where do you see yourself in five years time etc. All the things that any potential candidate was expecting, and could bluff their way through.

This book has really turned things round for me. Even if you don't use all the questions in the first interview, just going through the work history questions can be a real eye opener. For example, finding out what the candidate thought previous employers strengths and weaknesses were can really tell you a lot about whether they'll be suitable for your business.

I used the book yesterday, and it prevented me from making a huge recruitment mistake. Had I stuck to my old interview technique I would have hire a completely unsuitable candidate.

If you have struggled to recruit the right staff in the past, do try this book, you won't be disappointed.

5 out of 5 stars

Not only for interviewers July 5, 2000
Dr. Smart's most recent work, Topgrading, ranks very highly on my list of books containing useful information for anybody wanting to succeed. Through much experience he has discovered what qualities it takes to become a winner (an "A" Player) and has been generous enough to share this information with the public. Although I am still a student, the book has given me extrememly useful knowledge as to what employers look for, what I need to prepare to discuss in an interview, and how I need to direct my life in order to reach my destiny. I thank him very much for his guidance in my job-seeking process and recommend the book to all.

A.W. John

4 out of 5 stars Brad Smart knows what he is talking about BUT!!!!!! August 20, 1999
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I have read this book and conclude that most of the information is accurate in my experience. I think that Brad could TOPGRADE his style, however. The chest puffing gets tiring, his arrogance makes me gag and in general detracts from the potency of the book. This method is "no silver bullet" it works and can be difficult to implement. I also didn't care to read about Brad's property investment property and how he has Topgraded his help. .....Please lighten up Brad.

Woody Daroca Denver, Co.

5 out of 5 stars GREAT PROCESS AND REASONS TO HIRE THE BEST July 6, 1999
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Computers and equipment are wonderful tools, but people make the difference. TOPGRADING makes it clear just how valuable it is to hire and work with the best. The mistakes you will avoid make the investment very valuable. Early in our company's history, we did a statistical analysis of how many candidates we had to seriously consider before we could assume that we had seen an outstanding one. It was over 140. TOPGRADING provides you with a process that reduces that number a lot, but still ensures that you will be able to hire the best. I was very impressed with this book. I think it is one of the few books that goes beyond the current best practice to establish a new and higher standard. You would be very foolish if you did not read and apply the messages of this book. When the history of many companies is written in the future, a key turning point will be the day that TOPGRADING was first applied. I wish that I had had this book available 22 years ago when I established my consulting firm! I have recently discussed this book with a number of business executives, and they each found the book to be as valuable as I did. THIS BOOK WILL INCREASE THE CHANCES THAT YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES WILL BE BIGGER WINNERS THAN EVER BEFORE! Banish stalled thinking about hiring, and use this process.