This article in the November issue of BusinessWeek tackles a number of prescient issues surrounding talent management in an economic downturn "... smart leaders see downturns as having plenty of upside, too. Talent is cheaper." Read the whole article here.

Amid all the ubiquitous doom and gloom articles, this particular article stood out in today’s Globe & Mail. The authors, business professors Daniel Muzyka and Lawrence Weiss stress that “Downturns provide exceptional opportunities to acquire key talent, important assets, expand markets, and acquire businesses.” Read the whole article here (subscription required).

In this month’s Harvard Business Review, the former CEO of Arrow Electronics and Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School, Stephen Kaufman, explores why CEO evaluation must extend beyond “Hitting the numbers” and why “All the Incentives in the world won’t transform CEO’s into better decision makers.” Read the executive summary of the article here.

“If you don’t make an impact right out of the gate, they’re going to wonder why they hired you.” Says Bedford Managing Director, Howard Pezim, in this piece from the Globe and Mail that investigates the problems encountered by newly hired executives. Also featured are a set of useful Ground Rules from John Burdett and Bedford’s QuickStart programme. Read more (subscription required).