Customer Reviews

Deciding Who Leads: How Executive Recruiters Drive, Direct, and Disrupt the Global Search for Leadership Talent

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A Search Consultant myself, the book put forward some good idea's which it completely fails to work out. It is a book written for PR purposes rather than an attempt to give a genuine informed in-depth look of how, quoting the back-flap "the profession is charting the course of global business". Therefore it resembles nothing more than an parade of truisms.
An example is how McCool calculates the cost of a bad hire; I know the cost is high but the costs as claimed by the author are not substantiated, either backed up by any research or by detailed argumentation as why they are so high: the cost of a bad executive hire ranges from 10 to 15 times the annual salary of the executive (20% direct costs - 80% indirect costs). Why? How? McCool never explains or argues how he gets to such figures - his assertion this represents the cost is enough.
The "because I say so" argumentation underlies all claims made in the book. All follow the path where idea's which do make sense are brought forward, but are not worked out nor illustrated in a manner that goes beyond the writing of what looks like a quickie performed by a PR ghost writer. Still, the majority of the chapters are not as meek as the one where he tells a story of how a headhunter can be a "hearthunter".
Sigh.

John Byrne wrote The Headhunters in the 1980's. It was, and I think still is, the best overview of the beginning and rise of the executive search consulting industry. Byrne was a bit hyperbolic for my taste, but still his book examined the personalities and firms well. McCool's book is not an updated history of the search industry and how it has evolved over the intervening 20 years. But that actually is the point.

McCool's book illustrates how 20+ years after that book the search industry operates pretty much the same way it did back then, and well before. McCool focuses on the influence search firms/consultants have in the business world. But I believe the true importance of this book lies in McCool's analysis of how search needs to/should evolve. For search consultants(disclaimer: I am one) who care about their industry I think this is a book worth reading and hopefully will be a call for the profession and its members to innovate an industry that has changed very little in the past 60+ years (are you listening AESC?). For those who revel in calling themselves, or being called, Headhunters this book hopefully will move you to rethink accepting that degrading title for your profession.

During the feudal days of kings and royal courts it was often said that the true power of the throne was the individual behind the throne - the kingmaker. It's not a stretch to draw a comparison between the kingmakers of yore and today's executive recruiting firm because both serve a nearly identical function. In the book Deciding Who Leads, contemporary recruiting expert Joseph Daniel McCool minces no words when he states that executive recruiters are the most elite and influential consortium of consultants in the world, who carry a lot of heft and sway in shaping the landscape of business as we know it. McCool shares his insider perspective to unveil how these individuals can influence everything from business management; succession planning; workplace diversity; corporate culture; executive compensation as well as defining the attributes of leadership on a macro scale. This eye-opening expose is both startling and sobering, which is why Soundview recommends this book. Additionally, McCool provides authoritative advice regarding the true cost of a bad executive hire upon an organization; as well as how to best utilize a retained search firm when needed and implement an executive on-boarding process to ensure success all involved. This book belongs in the library of every executive - and wearer of a crown.

Joseph Daniel McCool's Deciding Who Leads: How Executive Recruiters Drive, Direct and Disrupt the Global Search for Leadership Talent, should be "must reading" for CEOs, senior executives, executive search consultants, Human Resource heads and others who play a role in recruiting and building the capability of top executives. In his provocative and insightful book, Joe shows what can go wrong and what must go right in the executive search process.

Executive search has been plagued by the status quo for decades and needs an overhaul to meet the rapidly changing needs created by the global war for talent. Joe shows us a framework, a road map, of how executives, client companies and executive search professionals can work together and transform this esoteric headhunting practice into to a rich, value-adding, competitive advantage for building and sustaining every company's most important asset: the capability and motivation of their senior executives and top teams.

I'm busy distributing copies to my clients. I highly recommend Deciding Who Leads.
Chuck Bolton, author of Leadership Wipeout: The Story of an Executive's Crash and Rescue

The old-fashioned headhunter you used to call on to bring in a quick hire is completely out of date and this book will help you understand why. Author Joseph Daniel McCool is a highly regarded journalist who has written about and lectured widely on executive search. While offering great information about search consultants, he also shows you the importance of creating your own internal processes for grooming candidates. He advocates establishing "onboarding" programs to create a foundation for new hires. McCool writes clearly and invitingly. He persuasively describes the real value companies can derive from using executive search services productively. getAbstract recommends this book to anyone involved in executive searches.

Joe McCool has written the best-ever guidebook for how to use and leverage executive recruiters. Written as a pro, McCool covers all key topics with straight candor and clear words, with special focus on how to make your executive recruiter work in your best interest, ongoing. Sections on the true cost of a bad executive hire, the intersection of search and onboarding, and search as the key to leadership diversity are especially enlightening, rounded out by final chapters on how to engage search consultants and best practices for senior management recruiting. McCool has greatly enriched the profession of those who hire, who have been long under-served regarding the counsel and training they've received.