This is a true story. I have a friend who heads the India operations of a well known European MNC. He has been with this firm for the past decade. During these years he has built up a fantastic track record of successfully managing assignments in different countries, leading teams to achieve success and is generally well regarded by his employer. Over the last few months he has been experiencing 'career fatigue'. We would often chat about the "What next?" question. He was wondering if he was still viewed as a valuable part of the firm's long term strategy.

When you think of Manchester United, you think of high voltage soccer, but do you think of “Man U” as the people who do great Talent Management? When you think of Storm Model Agency, you think haute couture and glamorous fashion models. Do you think of them as an organization that should be benchmarked for studying Talent Management practices? When you think of the BBC, Royal College of Music or Wimbledon, the top of the mind recall is not about their ability to coach high potential talent. That is exactly what the London based specialist consulting and executive search firm Jackson Samuel did. They delved into the Talent Management Practices of eight such firms (referred to as “Enterprise Organizations” here) and tried to glean out some insights on identifying and nurturing talent. The result was The Golden Few: Lessons in talent management from the worlds of entertainment, sport, arts and academia.