Average Gets Automated, Talent Gets Paid

Average gets average results. Talent matters, because now more than ever, average gets automated and talent gets paid. 

Whether you’re hiring for talent, or trying to develop your own, these definitions from Tyler Cowen and Daniel Gross will be useful to you. I’m adding my own emphasis. 

Cowen says, “We treat talent as having a creative energy that can alter outcomes and make projects better in ways that matter.” 

Gross says talent is, “the ability, ultimately, to positively manipulate whatever current environment you’re in to achieve your desired outcome. There’s many different ways of doing that. Some people do that by intellect, some people do that by charisma, some people do that by physical strength.”

My take is, “Talent is the ability to creatively apply intellect, charisma, physical strength, or some other variable to positively alter an outcome.” 

If we’re hiring, we’re looking for interests like passion and depth in the candidate’s life. We want to know how their creative sparks might translate into improving the role we want to fill. 

If we’re looking to add more value to an organization, we’re looking at how our own creative sparks can improve upon a new or existing process’ outcome. 

Listen to Cowen and Gross’ appearance on the Invest Like The Best Podcast, “Identifying Talent,” or check out their new book, “Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World.”