Writing recently for the Financial Times, Philip Delves Broughton, author of “Life’s a Pitch” (2012), discusses recruitment strategies and how he believes that companies are getting better at spotting great character.

Philip began by looking at the selection process for the New York Giants American Football team, who wanted “clean” and upstanding players as well as wanting big, strong performers. This reason for this is because the manager wants players to lead by example, and not to sacrifice any values in return for popularity.

Philip compares this attitude to what a senior executive at a Wall Street bank told him about his company’s recruiting policies. The bank’s solution has been not to hire from lower in the ranks at the same top universities, but rather to take the best students at traditionally lower-ranked universities. Equally, when hiring laterally, it would rather a top performer at a small firm than a middling employee from a rival.

Philip explains that the “idea is that there are a few people with exceptional talents, whom everybody wants.” He goes on to say that as a result, “managers can now cast their net much wider to find the recruits with the ideal character and experience.”

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For information on Philip’s speaking availability, please contact our Managing Partner, Leo von Bülow-Quirk, at [email protected] or call +44 (0) 20 7792 8000