The Alliance

Here is Amazon link if you want to check it out: https://www.amazon.com/Alliance-Managing-Talent-Networked-Age/dp/1625275773

Book Summary

The ideal world expectation from employees is that they will be loyal to a company or an employer. However, that is no longer possible (guess the reason), so the book tries to frame the conversation around building an alliance between an employee and the employer. Employees are the most valuable but also the most fungible resources. That's the basic premise. Assuming that you buy it, it details why it is beneficial to both parties, how to establish it, etc.

What stood out to me:

  1. The concept of 'tour of duty'. While I have seen the idea very informally, I felt the book did a pretty good job laying out the structure around it. There are even types of tours.
  2. I Liked the idea of setting an explicit contract for a 'tour of duty' and making expectations very clear for both sides.
  3. There was a small mention of an experiment where authors listed three leaders that inspired them the most, documenting their top three qualities (so a total of nine) and mapping them to the company's values/mission/principles.
  4. There is a bit of indirect emphasis that the leader's job isn't to instill greatness. Instead, they accept that greatness exists, and their job is to provide opportunities for it to emerge and grow.

What I am a bit skeptical of is:

  1. It is too idealistic. Maybe I would have believed it, but recent layoffs have created strong skepticism. Even LinkedIn laid off, so it is clear that the employer always has the upper hand.
  2. The conversation around leveraging the network to understand the market (e.g., PayPal) and using it to advantage felt shady. I get that all companies are doing it, but it feels too slippery slop to go down.

Additional Details:

Type of tours:
  1. Rotational: Non-personalized version where the person is exploring along with the employer as both parties have yet to figure out the best mutually. It makes sense for new folks or new problems.
  2. Transformational: The employer needs expertise, and the employee seeks an opportunity to level up. Mutually beneficial for both.
  3. Foundational: The employer has confidence in the employee's ability, so you set them up with an opportunity. Stakes are much higher on both sides.
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