Tallmadge & Hill Blog

By Ron Friedman, HBR Magazine May-June 2026 In the spring of 2022, after a grueling 58-loss season, the Oklahoma City Thunder sat near the bottom of the NBA standings. Then something remarkable happened: The franchise started getting better, fast. The following season the team won 40 games, blowing past Vegas projections by more than 16 wins. The next year it jumped to 57 wins, exceeding expectations by 12.5. A year later the team reached 68 wins, another 10.5 above forecasts. In just three seasons the Thunder [...]

By Deborah Lovich, Hubert Joly and Chenault Taylor, Harvard Business Review, March 24, 2026 Company leaders have long claimed that people are their greatest asset. Yet many still design work as if employees were just one of many operational inputs, leaving their greatest assets feeling dissatisfied and unmotivated. Companies have become masters at understanding their customers. They map customer journeys, study their behaviors, and use predictive analytics to anticipate their needs with astonishing precision. But when it comes to understanding their employees—the very people who create [...]

By Peter Aykens, Kaelyn Lowmaster, Emily Rose McRae, and Jonah Shepp, February 2, 2026 CEO expectations for AI-driven growth remain high in 2026—at the same time their workforces are grappling with the more sober reality of current AI performance. Gartner research finds that only one in 50 AI investments deliver transformational value, and only one in five delivers any measurable return on investment.In 2026, executive teams will have to navigate this difficult tension: delivering on today’s growth targets while nurturing a workforce capable of driving future [...]

By Mark Thompson and Byron Loflin, HBR Magazine, January-February 2026 When vying for a C-suite role, you’ll need to win over many different stakeholders: board members, the CEO (existing or outgoing), executive peers, and external parties like customers and shareholders who might weigh in on the decision. But all candidates, even internal ones, must prepare for another set of increasingly powerful gatekeepers: professional recruiters and assessors. In our work coaching executives and consulting to companies, we’ve seen a steep increase in the use of these advisers, [...]

By Roberta Matuson, Forbes, November 18, 2025 Executives love to say, “We just can’t find good people.” But let’s be honest: the problem isn’t the labor market. It’s your talent strategy. U.S. job openings in some key areas remain high, time-to-fill is off the charts, and executives are convinced that there is always someone better just around the corner. Spoiler alert: good is good enough. Here’s how to significantly reduce your time to hire and fill jobs with great people. 1. Stop Writing Job Postings [...]

By Caroline Castrillon, Forbes, October 28, 2025 The dreaded email arrives unexpectedly. Or maybe you saw it coming for weeks. With Amazon reportedly cutting 30,000 corporate jobs, Target announcing layoffs and similar headlines across industries, this reality is hitting professionals everywhere. Being laid off feels unsettling at best. But here's what many successful professionals have discovered: a layoff can be the catalyst for a career change that propels you toward work you actually love, rather than one you simply tolerate.The key is resilience—the ability to transform [...]