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The Leadership Podcast

The Leadership Podcast

We Study Leaders

Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping the Best People, Revised and Updated Edition

January 6, 2026

Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping the Best People, Revised and Updated Edition

Great companies don’t just depend on strategies—they depend on people. The more great people on your team, the more successful your organization will be. But that’s easier said than done. Statistically, half of all employment decisions result in a mishire: The wrong person winds up in the wrong job. But companies that have followed Bradford Smart’s advice in Topgrading have boosted their successful hiring rate to 90 percent or better, giving them an unbeatable competitive advantage.

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About the Book

Now Smart has fully revised his 1999 management classic to reintroduce the topgrading concept, which works for companies large and small in any industry. The author spells out his practical approach to finding and managing A-level talent—as well as coaching B players to turn them into A players. He provides intriguing case studies drawn from more than four thousand in-depth interviews.

As Smart writes in his introduction, “All organizations, all businesses live or die mostly on their talent, and any manager who fails to topgrade is nuts, or a C player. . . . Those who, way deep down, would sooner see an organization die than nudge an incompetent person out of a job should not read this book… Topgrading is for A players and all those aspiring to be A players.”

On the web: http://www.topgrading.com/

Details
Author: GGG Show Mentions
Series: Jim & Jan
Tags: Business, Coaching, Hiring, Leadership, Management, Mentoring, Performance, Practitioner, Recommended Books, Success, Teamwork, Trust
ASIN: 1591840813
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Other Books on the Show in the "Jim & Jan"
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
The Spirit of Leadership: Optimizing Creativity and Change in Organizations
The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence
The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life
THE COMPASS SOLUTION – A GUIDE TO WINNING YOUR CAREER
Team of Teams
Plato's Lemonade Stand: Stirring Change into Something Great
Man's Search For Meaning: The classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust
Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
The Power of Habit
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing
Choosing Courage: The Everyday Guide to Being Brave at Work
Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control
The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization
Look: A Practical Guide for Improving Your Observational Skills
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Clarity: Business Wisdom to Work Less and Achieve More
The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
The Captain Class: The Hidden Force That Creates the World's Greatest Teams
Strengths Finder 2.0
The Experience Economy
The Littlest Green Beret
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
The Future of Management
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Leaders: Myth and Reality
Dying for a Paycheck: How Modern Management Harms Employee Health and Company Performance and What We Can Do About It
The Responsible Company: What We've Learned From Patagonia's First 40 Years
Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life
Dress for Success
Leaders Eat Last
Thinking Fast & Slow
The Fine Art of Small Talk: How To Start a Conversation, Keep It Going, Build Networking Skills -- and Leave a Positive Impression!
Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
The Wisdom of Crowds
Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter
Let's Get Small
Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity
Leadership BS
Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are
Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations: Ancient Philosophy for Modern Problems
Preview
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the page above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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