The Talent Management Handbook: Creating a Sustainable Competitive Advantage by Selecting, Developing, and Promoting the Best People, 2nd Edition

Chapter 2Formulating Competencies

Murray M. Dalziel, Ph.D., Professor of Management and Director University of Liverpool Management School

AN AMERICAN-BASED FAST-MOVING CONSUMER GOODS COMPANY DECIDES TO EXPAND aggressively in Europe and Asia. It hires a team of international search consultants who attract some of the best marketing talent from some of the most prominent firms in the consumer goods sector. Twenty-four months later, 70 percent of the new hires are gone.

A large financial services company embarks on an ambitious acquisition binge. In short order it acquires five medium-sized competitors. After 24 months, its share price collapses as the costs for IT integration fails.

A successful technology firm hires a new chief financial officer. ...