Editorial Review:
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. 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.”
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
Big letdown  2008-06-16
This is little more than a promotional flyer which you can download free from their website. It's a ripoff, don't bother. The ideas may be good but you can't evaluate it from the blurbs in this advertisement posing as a book.
Wealth of Information  2008-03-11
There is a wealth of information in Topgrading. Most business owners do not understand the importance of having the right people in the right spots. As the statistics show, about 75% of the people hired for a job are mis-hires. That is to say they are not the best available for the job and the salary range in the location of the job. In short, they are not "A" employees.
There are many business that have a protective culture. Once an employee, they are entitled to keep their job. As Dr. Smart points out, your company cannot afford to continue to mis-hire and/or keep the "B & C" employees on the payroll. Business is simply too competitive.
The book is well written and covers the subject in depth. The book is long and it can be slow reading. However, as Brad points out, you do not need to read all the details. It is designed so that you can read the bullet points and delve deeper in those sections that are of particular interest to you.
The book is primarily written for those hiring managers in larger companies. The most value to be gained will be from those companies that fit that category. However it is well documented that the cost of mis-hires and the percentage of mis-hires is too high for any employer to ignore the information in this book.
There is a wealth of information in the appendix. Most people will say that hiring this way takes too much time and cost too much. To that anyone who understands the process would ask, how much time and money does it cost to make a hiring mistake and how much to do it over.
In today's competitive environment, business owners do not have the luxury to allow "B & C" employees to run the ship. If you truly want to run a top notch company, you will only achieve that with "A" employees.
Everyone knows that the quality and growth of your business will depend on the quality of your employees. This is a wonderful manual for getting 90% "A" players on your team.
A must read for anyone responsible for hiring in their company - no matter the size of the company.
Top Grading's Low Grade 2008-02-18
I saw the book listed on Wall St Career Journal, supposedly what NYC HR people use... Unfortunately the book had very little to no information beyond the age old surround yourself with the best people.. and a few quotes. The book "High-Performs: Recruiting and Retaining Top Employees" by Alan Dubinsky and Steve Skinner had much more actionable information.
A Must Read for all Executives and Managers 2008-01-30
This is the best interviewing book I have read. I have been in Executive Search for over 10 years, recruiting "C" level executives for technology companies and I buy 10-20 copies of this book at a time to give them away.
Dr. Smart describes exactly what goes on in the interviewing process, the dynamics of the team and who is likely to recruit whom. Paying attention and utilizing his methods allows companies to build world class management teams.
Read before making your next hire! 2007-11-26
This is the best and most comprehensive book I have ever seen on recruiting top sales people. While the methodology is time and labor intensive, our firm has seen the positive impacts. We are now hiring sales superstars and our turnover is way down. Can you afford NOT to read and study this book?
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