About the Author

BRADFORD D. SMART, PH.D., is the president of Smart & Associates, Inc., a group of professionals who assess candidates for executive positions and train managers to implement Topgrading. A well-known industrial psychologist and consultant, he has personally helped hundreds of companies of all sizes dramatically improve their talent. His other books include Topgrading for Sales. Brad lives in a suburb of Chicago.
Visit www.Topgrading.com

Reviews

 “Stated simply, the best talent wins and Topgrading helps identify and hire the best talent. This is true for internal promotions and external hires.”
—KEN CAMP, CEO, Hillenbrand“The Topgrading interview process is one of the best tools in our arsenal for getting an in-depth understanding of high-potential managers. It probably improved our success promoting high-potential managers from maybe 50% to over 80%.”
—BILL CONATY, former Senior Vice President of Human Resources, General Electric“The most valuable management skill a person can have is the ability to produce high-talent teams. Nothing else even comes close. That’s why Brad Smart’s Topgrading approach should be a top priority process in your organization.”
—PRICE PRITCHETT, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO, PRITCHETT LP“Topgrading is the best practice I know of for hiring and promoting people who turn out to be A Players. In a not-for-profit, that can translate into raising more money to educate the public, and that can save lives . . . Having the best talent at every salary level is crucial.”
—CASS WHEELER, former CEO, American Heart Association“Turnover came down, and sales and profits skyrocketed. With 98% hiring success due to Topgrading, the business took off.”
—JACK HARRINGTON, then CEO, Virtual Technology, now CEO, Thales Raytheon Systems“When I look back at the dramatic success of our company, I can clearly point to the implementation of Topgrading as the pivotal moment that made our success pos­sible. I implore every business owner to make Topgrading mandatory. A Topgraded team is the ultimate secret weapon to crush the competition.”
—RICHARD ROSSI, Co-Founder, EnvisionEMI“We’ve Topgraded the entire company and our sales and profits have soared.”
—ORRIN KLOPPER, CEO, Netsurit