Cornerstone Executive Publishes Book on Agile Talent

In 2013, an Oxford University report rocked the business community by claiming 47% of jobs in the U.S. are at risk from automation. Since then, World Bank Development data has shown the risks are even higher elsewhere – 57% in OECD countries up to 77% in China.

This is remarkable testimony to the impact of technology change, but it does not come as a surprise to Ralf Knegtmans.

Ralf has long been intrigued by the impact this accelerating pace of change is having on companies, both long-established financial/ manufacturing firms as well as high-tech start-ups.  His research has resulted in four books that probe corporate success strategies in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world.

His newly published book Agile Talent, explores the impact on talent management. Traditional talent selection criteria – the usual mix of credentials, skills and knowledge – is no longer sufficient.  The need for HR to move fast is not new, but the speed at which the talent marketplace is changing has made agility in talent management a new imperative.

Being “agile” extended to more than the way a company is organized, Knegtmans discovered.  The top people leading successful firms had to embody agile characteristics as well.

But what are these agile characteristics, and how can organizations make successful hires?  This became the focus of Agile Talent, the first of his four books to be translated into English.

A highly-experienced recruiting professional, he has written his book also for senior management and anyone involved in the selection of top executives and those hard-to-find key hires.

Starting tomorrow, Ralf will also share some of his inside thinking here in a series of blog posts.   The new book, Agile Talent, is available on Amazon.