The Wall Street Journal’s Career Journal Online featured a fine interview called Preparing the Work Force: An Interview with Robert B. Reich.

Mr. Reich, the former Secretary of Labor and author of The Work of Nations, articulates our views so well:

“The only unique asset that a business has for gaining a sustained competitive advantage over rivals is its workforce -- the skills and dedication of its employees. There is no other sustainable competitive advantage in the modern, hightech, global economy…”

This seminal insight outlining the talent/performance equation of talent management has been finding its way into conversations wherever innovation and business performance are spoken. The interesting thing is that we are hearing it articulated lately by more people more often.