#5toolplayer

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The 5-tool player is a baseball term that defines a player who excels at Hitting for Average, Hitting for Power, Fielding Prowess, Throwing Ability and Speed.  Very few players in baseball history have been known to excel in all 5 areas.  Some you might recognize are Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey, Jr., Willie Mays, Carlos Beltran, Alfonso Soriano, Duke Snider and Alex Rodriguez.

As you look through these names even casual baseball fans can see the obvious value they possess, but when it comes to business what are the skills that define a 5-tool player and how do you evaluate this?

Some of the skills that might be valuable in business are; Communication, Financial Knowledge, Sales, IT and People Management.  But it also depends on the business you are in.  For instance, manufacturing companies might place a greater emphasis on Supply Chain Management or Material Procurement, while a Software Company might look more heavily at Project Management and Code Development Skills.

Each business has different strategic goals that need to be assessed, and since every business is different the skills that are needed change.  A Software Development company is different from a Manufacturing business.  Large Fortune 500 Software Development companies like Microsoft are unique and different than a Small to Mid-sized Software Development company like AnswerLab in San Francisco, CA.

A 5-tool player in Baseball is different than a 5-tool player in Football or Basketball.

The challenge is to first evaluate what your required skills are based on the product or services your business offers.  The second challenge is to identify candidates that meet that criteria, with the third being the ability to execute on your plan.

Without the right talent in place your business will never successfully execute and never hit your short or long term goals making HCM the critical path to business success.