Book review—To ensure successful recruiting, understand your organization's culture

In The Intuitive Compass, Francis P. Cholle relates this Native American proverb to emphasize that wherever you are now might just be the optimal place from which to get to where you want to go. The proverb implies that it’s best to contemplate your ability to alter your perception of reality to bring forth something new and unexpected. If you pay attention to details—a word, a color, or a song that comes to mind for no apparent reason—they might have the capacity to reveal the whole and let you discover with a fresh eye the environment you’re in or the problem you’d like to solve. In Hiring for Attitude, Mark Murphy advocates a perspective that, like Cholle’s, necessitates a thorough examination of the present. Murphy highlights managerial decisions about recruiting and proposes an inquiry process that reveals the underlying facets of a company’s culture. Having a succinct depiction of the culture, managers can hire the most compatible candidates and enhance the company’s human resource advantage.