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Topgrading will permit you to double, triple, or even quadruple your success hiring and promoting high performers. That simple fact will then permit you to dramatically change your organizational culture—to raise the performance bar for everyone. And Topgrading coaching methods will help you develop and retain top talent. The result, as the CEOs of our case studies state, is improved organizational performance.

On an individual manager level, Topgrading will pack your team with high performers, which will assure your improved personal performance and greater career success. And there is frosting on the cake for you personally: because you will be able to delegate to more A Players, you will be able to enjoy that elusive thing...that dream of...what is it called, oh yeah—work-life balance.

WHAT'S NEW IN THE THIRD EDITION OF TOPGRADING

A lot is new—so much that I completely rewrote the book.

* As the subtitle suggests, this edition proves that Topgrading companies perform better. The first edition of Topgrading said, "Here are the methods I've used professionally, and companies improved their talent because I picked the winners, and by the way, maybe you can copy what I do and improve your results." Only a few managers seemed to do it. The second edition said, "I've taught leading companies such as General Electric, Honeywell, and American Heart Association how to use Topgrading, and they are hiring and promoting a lot more high performers, so you can, too." Preparing for this third edition I asked, "So what? Does better talent really make a difference?" "Of course," Topgraders unanimously say. However, to my knowledge there has never been a book or article that, like this book, cites dozens of CEOs and heads of HR who say, "I'm certain our sales, profits, market share, etc., are significantly better because of Topgrading." This edition quotes dozens of CEOs who say Topgrading has made their company more successful.

* Topgrading is for all companies, large and small. Tiny, small, and medium-size companies can afford fewer mis-hires than big companies, and all of the Topgrading methods work perfectly well in all companies. It was my fault that the image of Topgrading became "big company." In earlier Topgrading books I cited many leading companies that embraced Topgrading, and of course they are very big companies. They dominated the 2005 edition of Topgrading. This edition showcases extremely diverse organizations—big, small, growth, entrepreneurial, domestic, and international—in well over 100 countries.

* Human Resources can launch Topgrading! Until very recently Human Resources could not be the prime driver of Topgrading. Topgrading historically has started at the top, with the CEO engaging Smart & Associates to assess and coach the top team, and screen replacements. All managers, starting with the top team, participated in 2-day Topgrading Workshops. The company invested in a license to use all the Topgrading forms and guides, and boom! Topgrading was launched.

The CEO continued to use Smart & Associates (they still do) for "second opinion" interviews of finalists for C-suite jobs, and internal managers paired off for tandem Topgrading Interviews of candidates below the top team. But the head of Human Resources almost never was the driver of Topgrading, because if peers balked at Topgrading and ran to the CEO, and if the CEO did not support HR's wanting thorough Topgrading Interviews or candidate- arranged reference calls (or whatever), the legs were cut out from under HR. Today HR can launch Topgrading. So can any department head. The Topgrading Lite steps you will soon learn can be implemented today, and better hiring results will occur almost immediately. Topgrading is the surest way Human Resources can regain the lost respect the aforementioned McKinsey article chronicles. I have interviewed and coached hundreds of heads of HR, and after years—no, decades—of their asking that we come up with some version of Topgrading they can implement to improve talent, without relying much on the CEO, we finally can help.

* There are now 12 very clear, very proven Topgrading Hiring Steps. This book fully explains why all 12 steps are crucial to better hiring and how to implement them.

* Abbreviated, simplified Topgrading methods enable companies to dramatically improve hiring for entry-level jobs. Several case studies share their abbreviated forms and guides.