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Draws on the results of recent Surveys which highlight the need for clear vision and sustained top management commitment in culture change. Suggests that in order to gain the necessary skills, management should adopt more of the attitudes, approaches, tools and techniques that have transformed management performance in benchmark companies. Uses the case of Rank Xerox to illustrate how a quality culture might be created.

Many contemporary approaches to talent management are unaffordable. This paper seeks to summarise some key findings of a five‐year investigation into quicker and more affordable routes to creating high performance organisations. It aims to suggest a practical and much more cost‐effective way of quickly achieving multiple corporate objectives and measurable benefits for both people and organisations is often being overlooked.

A programme of critical success factor, “issue” and other surveys was complemented with a five‐year evaluation of more recent case studies to understand early adoptions of performance support and to assess their results and implications. The applications examined were discussed with the relevant technical architect and the results obtained corroborated with commissioner/user performance data and/or documented assessments/reactions.

Recruiting exceptional people – even if affordable – can create a host of problems if they are not properly managed, which is often the case. Paying for talented people may make little sense for organisations that cannot harness or capture and share what they do differently. Talent needs to be relevant to what an organisation is seeking to do and critical success factors for excelling in key roles, and what top performers do differently in these areas captured and shared.

Evaluations of performance management need to consider all the objectives that are beneficially impacted.

One can avoid certain general, expensive, time consuming and disruptive corporate programmes in an area such as talent management and adopt quick, focused, cost effective alternatives that generate large returns on investment, and quickly deliver multiple benefits for people and organisations. Performance support can enable average performers wherever they may be to excel at difficult jobs.

A wider range of people can be helped to do difficult jobs.

The paper summarises the main findings of an investigation that has identified deficiencies of contemporary approaches to talent management, identifies an approach which if strategically adopted can enable relevant talent in terms of how to excel at key roles to be developed as and when required, and sets out the benefits of Talent Management 2, of which performance support is a central element.

Corporate learning is at a crossroads. Existing courses and facilities are nearing the end of their useful lives, and there are new learning approaches and technologies to consider. A survey of the corporate learning plans and priorities of 69 organisations suggests there is widespread confusion and a lack of direction. Many courses are excessively general and fail to address particular requirements. The focus is overwhelmingly internal and on organisational needs. Individual aspirations and the requirements of customers and business partners are being overlooked. Existing information and knowledge are being shared, but training and development activities are contributing little to the creation and exploitation of new knowledge and intellectual capital. Opportunities for collaboration are being missed. In many companies training and development remain a cost although they could provide the basis for generating new income streams and become a significant business in their own right.

To assess the relevance of the growing interest in Knowledge Management, the author suggests the need to understand the contemporary context into which it is being introduced. For example, how does it relate to “process management” or the “learning organization”? The results of the author’s research indicates that many companies will pay a high and continuing price for an emphasis on short‐term improvements. In general, a more holistic and people‐centred approach to management that puts more emphasis on learning is required. This paper presents an overview of certain research findings that might be relevant to an assessment of Knowledge Management for the future organization.

Downsizing, cost‐cutting and re‐engineering are essentially negative activities. The emphasis is switching to revenue generation and value creation. Also, customers increasingly demand tailored solutions and expect more imaginative responses to their particular requirements. In short, more entrepreneurial approaches are required. There is scope for reconciling individual and corporate interests. Companies want to encourage, develop, release and retain entrepreneurial talent, while many aspiring and intending entrepreneurs could benefit from the support which corporations can provide. Although relevant tools are available, training and development professionals are failing to encourage enterprise, develop entrepreneurs and support new corporate ventures.

As the emphasis switches from cost‐cutting and restructuring to revenue generation and value creation, the winning of business assumes greater importance. Although the skills required to submit successful proposals and win bids, and the critical success factors for winning business in a growing number of sectors have now been identified, and relevant tools and techniques are available, the overwhelming majority of training and development professionals are failing to contribute to the winning of competitive business. An unprecedented opportunity exists for the training and development community to make a strategic contribution.

The article is intended to share findings from an ongoing investigation undertaken by questionnaire survey, interview and in‐company observation into the leadership of performance improvement and corporate transformation.

The article examines and compares the approaches and behaviours of winning and losing boards.

Directors and boards of companies that succeed at managing change, competing and winning exhibit very different approaches

Trainers and developers need to understand the differing approaches of the boards of successful and struggling companies and encourage and help directors, both individually and collectively, to learn from, emulate and develop the approaches and behaviours of those boards that are successful in managing change, competing and winning.

The article highlights behaviours and approaches that trainers and developers need to encourage if directors and boards are to become more effective at managing change, competing and winning.

A British Institute of Management report has revealed that most European organisations are focusing their attention on customer satisfaction. It suggests that everyone is responsible to the customer and that viewing their products/services through their customers' eyes is the way forward.

Reports on a survey, carried out by the British Institute of Management, which shows that to survive, organisations have to be more responsive to employee and customer needs. Asserts the successful management of relationships is critical to business success. Discusses management and customer issues. Records the findings of the BIM survey. Concludes that major corporations operate in an unstable world making them more vulnerable to competition and challenges beyond their control. Understanding these changes requires an awareness of underlying concerns and values. Asserts there is no single path to quality but common to all winning companies is that they view continuous improvement as never‐ending. The focus should be upon the customer throughout.

Successful and unsuccessful companies adopt very different ways of managing change, competing and winning. Examining outcomes achieved enables the differing attitudes, approaches, behaviours and priorities of winners and losers to the integration of learning and working, partnering with consultants and business schools, operating in the international business environment and creating international learning networks to be compared. Learning, training and development activities and interventions should address the root causes of “losing” ways and focus upon, enable and support winning attitudes and approaches. Success is directly related to the number of critical success factors that are put in place. Hence, the payoff from activities that address them can be considerable.