When hiring, Employers and managers probably believe recognizing untalented people is one of their largest concerns.

I disagree.

Untalented people (or better said, people whose talents aren’t a good fit) are fairly easy to identify. So, you can hire talented people most times.

So, it seems obvious that the issue is hiring people with the right talents doesn’t it?

Wrong again.

A few selective questions solve that issue.

So what do I believe is the true issue? Recognizing and addressing prodigals.

Prodigals aren’t untalented - they’re wasteful. That’s the definition of a prodigal, someone who wastes what they HAVE.

When hiring, we strive to find the prodigy full of talent and potential. What we fail to recognize is there is a fine line between someone who HAS talent and someone who WASTES it.

There’s not much separating the prodigy from the prodigal. The good news is there’s not much separating the prodigal from the prodigy either.