Top 100 Influencers in HR, Recruiting & Talent Acquisition

Influenza: Top 100 Status Report

Posted on 08. Jan, 2010 by John Sumser in Blog, Top 100

By John Sumser

When I was in high school (don’t ask, but we did have telephones), my girlfriend and I figured out a code for saying “I love you” on the phone. In those days, there was generally one phone line with many phones on it. Family life and telephone privacy were mutually exclusive. It was embarrassing to say it while sitting in the middle of the kitchen while dinner was cooking.

If you add all of the numbers on a phone pad that spell I love you, they total 49. I’d say “49”. She’d say “49”. The assembled siblings and dinner guests just thought we were weird. Nothing new there.

“49” is one of those strange things that stick with you for a lifetime. Since we just passed number 49 on the Top 100 Influencers list, I am reminded to fill you in on progress to date and update the list.

The Top 100 Influencers project uses a network methodology. For over a year, now, I have asked each person that I talk to to name the five most influential people in the HR Industry. (I’ve asked about 700). Every time someone is referenced by five other people, they go onto the interview list (I’ve interviewed about 280). From those interviews, a subset of influencers are selected based on net visible contribution to the industry.

It’s been an interesting process. Along the way, a number of people have proposed improvements to the methodology. In the next version of the process (after the first 100 are finished), we’ll take a look at improved methods. It’s good to be able to learn as you go.

There are a number of very interesting findings from the research so far. In no particular order,

• People who wield influence are not usually people who work in the business on a day to day basis. Consultants, Analysts, Vendor executives, academics, event promoters, writers and editors all have an edge at being influential. It’s a part of their job and a key success metric.
• People who work in HR and its various sub disciplines are less likely to be influential. They have no industry marketing budget.
• There are some executives who successfully create industry influence while holding down a ‘day job’. They usually build an institution of some importance as an expression of their passion.
• Social Media is making it possible for more practitioner voices to be heard.
• There is little in the way of training in leadership or managerial disciplines for people who want to be successful running HR organizations. There are no observable road maps currently.
• The industry produces an enormous number of analyst companies and executive think tanks to fill some of the gap.
• There is a huge difference between the way that HR is practiced in the top 10% of companies. It almost doesn’t resemble what the other 90% do.

We ve begun an interesting and related experiment. Each month, in the HRExaminer, we are going to offer a list of the Top 25 Online Influencers in specific subsets of HR (the overall Top 25 Online Influencers in HR is already available).

These lists are completely computer generated. We define a keyword cloud and the terms are spidered and the players are measured in three areas: Reach (eyeballs), Resonance (inbound links, community participation) and Relevance (match against the keyword cloud). From what we can tell, it’s the first objective measure of influence in the industry. It’s powered by Traackr, a Boston firm with good tools for the Recruiting market.

(The name influenza is Italian and means “influence” (Latin: influentia). The most common symptoms of the disease are chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness/fatigue and general discomfort.)

Here are all of the pieces of the Top100 Influencers Project to date:

Overview Pieces

• Keys To Influence
• Key Influencers
• Influence Happens In A Context
• Top 100: Recruiting and HR
• Spheres of Influence
• We’ve Moved
• Key Influencers: Observable Trends
• Measuring Influence
• Influenza

The Influencers

1.01 Naomi Bloom – The Software Architect – Bloom and Wallace
1.02 Kevin Grossman – The Clarifier – HRMarketer
1.03 Kevin Wheeler – The Futurist – Future of Talent Institute
1.04 Elaine Orler – The Recruiting Strategist – Talent Function Group
1.05 Jeanne Achille – The Gentle Connector – Devon Group
1.06 Robin Ferracone – The Boardroom Player - Farient Advisors
1.07 David Manaster – The Community Builder – ERE
1.08 Bill Kutik – The Technology Czar- HR Technology Conference
1.09 Bill /component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,flypage.tpl/product_id,46/category_id,6/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,3/”>5mg cialis generic Vick – The Padronne - ExtremeRecruiting TV
1.10 Rob McIntosh – The Game Changer- Avanade
1.11 David Perry - The Guerilla – Perry Martel
1.12 William Tincup – The Reframer – Starr-Tincup
1.13 John Sullivan- The Good Doctor – John Sullivan Associates
1.14 Dan Hilbert – The Edge – OrcaEyes
1.15 Doug Berg – The Scientist – Jobs2Web
1.16 Allan Schweyer – The Director – Center For Human Capital Innovation
1.17 Tony Karrer – The Training Engineer – TechEmpower
1.18 Peter Clayton – The Reporter – Total Picture Radio
1.19 China Gorman – The Operator – SHRM
1.20 Jessica Lee – The Editor – Fistful of Talent
1.21 Mike Mayeux – The Processor – Novotus
1.22 Shally Steckerl – The Sourceror – Arbita
1.23 Rusty Reuff – The Entertainer – Reuff Associates
1.24 Elliot Clark – The Publisher – Shared Expertise Media
1.25 Valerie Frederickson – The Sage – Valerie Frederickson & Co
1.26 Todd Raphael – The Quiet Force - ERE
1.27 Brian (Skip) Schipper – The Coral Reef Manager – Cisco
1.28 Penelope Trunk – The Brazen Careerist- BrazenCareerist
1.29 Gerry Crispin – The Connector – CareerXroads
1.30 Darren Romano – The Headhunter’s Headhunter
1.31 Auren /component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,flypage.tpl/product_id,46/category_id,6/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,3/”>5mg cialis generic Hoffman – The Synthesizer – Rapleaf
1.32 Neil McCormick – The Standard Bearer – Talent2
1.33 Mike Foster – The Builder- HCI
1.34 Jason Davis – The Innovator – RecruitingBlogs
1.35 Libby Sartain – The Godmother – Brand For Talent
1.36 Joe and Cecelia Gonzalez – Dynamic Duo – BCA Executive Search
1.37 Wes Wu – The Technologist – Systematic HR
1.38 Debbie McGrath – The Organizer – HR.com
1.39 Bruce Steinberg – The Enumerator – Steinberg
1.40 Steve Boese – The HRTech Professor – Steve Boese’s HR Tech
1.41 Matt Alder – Recruiting Futurologist – Recruiting Futurology
1.42 Eric Winegardner – The Shoe Guy – Winegardner
1.43 Jeff Kaye – The Outfitter – Kaye Bassman
1.44 George Bradt – Mr. Onboarding – Primegenesis
1.45 SHRM
1.46 Dan Finnigan – The Pioneer – Jobvite
1.47 Kris Dunn – The Instigator – HR Capitalist
1.47 Sue Marks – Edge Finder – Pinstripe Talent
1.48 Marc Effron – Talent Manager – New Talent Management Network
1.49 Mary Kitson – Master Mentor – NOVA/Dulles SHRM Mentoring Program