Man with a (Talent) Plan (p. 83)
FC Article

• Rusty Rueff makes the point that ''the primary limiting factor on our business is having enough creative leaders on our team. The challenge then becomes how to come into contact with the best of the best and how to establish relationships with them.' How does your company or organization currently approach this challenge? Do you follow what Rueff would term a 'linear' path to recruiting talent? In what way does the Internet influence your hiring or networking process? In what way could the Internet be used to improve your hiring or networking process?
• How can an organization create a pipeline of talent? Electronic Arts, Inc. approaches this challenge with the goal of building strong relationships with a pool of talented people. How would you define your goal in recruiting talent? Should an organization think of this process as community building? How would this shift in perception or goals change the way an organization would approach the hiring process? What would it say to the internal community (the employees) about the organization that they work for?
• How do you maintain an ongoing connection with a network of talented people? How do you create a personalized approach to contacting or networking with a large pool of talented people? Jose Martin says, 'Ultimately, if we're going to be successful as a company... all of the producers, art directors, animators and software engineers need to own this process. And they all need to strengthen their networks continually.' Whose responsibility should it be to maintain this network? Where else should responsibility lie in developing this community?
• What are the first steps in creating a systematic approach to community building? How would your organization begin looking for talent? How would your organization introduce itself to prospective talent? How could this contact be maintained as a network over time? How should your organization impart a sense of its character and culture to a prospective applicant? What are the most important aspects of your company culture that a prospective applicant should know? How does your company as a whole get involved in this networking process? Would you make this involvement a priority within your organization?

Where Are You On the Talent Map? (p. 102)
FC Article

• Professor Richard Florida points to tolerance, openness to diversity, and urban-oriented amenities as critical characteristics of location for attracting talent. What would you add or how would you elaborate to this list? If these community attributes are key to attracting talent, what implications does this hold for your own organization? How does the nature of your organization fit these desirable characteristics of community? What existing structures, features, or programs can you build upon to further develop these characteristics for the community of your organization?
• Florida points out that 'the crusaders of the new economy increasingly take their professional identities from where they live, rather than from where they work.' Does the type of community these 'crusaders' want to live in also determine what kind of company they will want to work for? If the workers of the new economy seek a place where they can live as well as work, what does this say about the changing relationship of life and work? How does one bridge the gap of lifestyle and the workplace? Have these concepts become more fluid?
• What does community mean to you? How do you compare the community of your workplace to that of your neighborhood or network of friends? What can these different communities learn from each other?
• How does the variety of cultural or social opportunities offered in a community locale affect the workplace and employee performance? Florida notes that opportunities for active participation in community are important in attracting talent. What do you think are the most important opportunities for involvement? How do you see your prospective employees getting involved in local culture? How does your organization involve its employees in the local community? What kinds of opportunities can your organization provide to help widen the scope of employee's active participation in their surrounding communities?
• How does a community (city, town, neighborhood) achieve convergence in terms of technology and innovation, arts and culture, and its own unique character? How does a community simultaneously support culture and activity as well as industry and technology? How can an organization get involved in sponsoring and supporting this convergence? (See Creative Space) What can individuals do to support this convergence in their own culture and community?

Ann Karash contributed this month's Flash Points.

January 2001 Connexus | Flash Points | Next Steps

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