“War for Talent” – Keep the Name, Just Change the Rules

Yesterday I read a really passionate blog from Barry Flack (@barryjflack http://wp.me/p1ExTE-8o  ) titled “What Did You Do In The War (For Talent) Daddy.”

The essence of his blog was that the “war” essentially spawned  “testosterone-fuelled talent strategies” which commoditised the individual desire over organisational want.

My feelings on reading the blog were mixed.  There were some things that I agreed with, but at the core I disagreed that the “war” in itself was a bad thing.

Whilst the phraseology of ‘war’ may be wrong, the essence of what it meant was of value to businesses and the economy as a whole.   The McKinsey’s took “talent” to the top table and this was key in businesses recognising its people were an asset to be valued and fought for.  There are some who are trying to turn their back on the phraseology of “war for talent”,   Paul Maxin’s article that…