In his bestselling book Moneyball, Michael Lewis showed how concepts like risk management and statistical analysis could be used to successfully pick ballplayers—so successfully that Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane, the book's main subject, has grumbled that baseball front offices now "look like the Goldman Sachs arbitrage desk."

But if baseball has learned a thing or two from business, it may well be the case that corporate America could take a page from the talent evaluation and development techniques used by major-league scouts.

Jonathan Story, a former minor-league player who began his scouting career with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1995 and now teaches a course in general managing and scouting for Sports Management Worldwide, points out that the team-oriented, developmental approach used by scouts fits well with a business environment that increasingly emphasizes collaboration and specialization.

"It used to be that businesses would fight over the candidate who looked best on paper," says Story. "Now, most people recognize that you have to do more than just grab superstar talent; you have to hire with the team and the future in mind."

Norm Kamikow, editor in chief of Talent Management magazine, agrees. "You look at world-class companies like G.E., and they'll hire junior execs, put them into the pipeline, and not do anything with them for 18 to 24 months except follow their progress and evaluate their potential," he says. "It means they always have a 'farm team' to draw from if they need to fill a critical management role, and the developmental approach gives them the time to sift the gold from the sand."

Story's baseball experience leads him to make four recommendations for corporate managers who want to hit a home run with their hiring.

Stats and Résumés Aren't Everything
As much as Moneyball-type statistical analysis has changed baseball, it hasn't eclipsed the need for more holistic methods of talent evaluation. "There are guys out there who think you can assess players from behind a laptop, but just looking at stats won't tell you anything about makeup and work ethic," says Story.

Story says he learns more about players by visiting them at their homes and chatting with school teammates than in formal interviews, where they're on their best behavior. And while that kind of interviewing is not a practical option for corporate managers, it makes sense to interact with late-stage candidates in a more casual environment.

"You're making a huge investment when you hire someone, so the more you know about them, the better," agrees Kamikow. One place managers should definitely look to get a sense for how candidates are in an informal setting is the internet. "If you don't [use] Google, Facebook, and MySpace [to screen] your candidates, you're being stupid," he says.

Hire With the Team in Mind
As fans of the New York Yankees have sadly come to realize, putting nine all-stars on the field doesn't guarantee you victory. "You have to think of chemistry and group dynamics," says Story. "Yeah, this guy may be great, but will he make the team great? Do I need a superstar here, or a grinder who's going to consistently deliver reliable results?"

As proof of the value of role players, Story cites the Atlanta Braves of the 1990s and 2000s, who made the playoffs a record 14 consecutive times. "The formula was all about a consistent core, a couple of superstars, and some young and promising talent," says Story. "You had these roles in place, and there were new faces in those roles, but the roles stayed the same." 


For his part, Kamikow says that while expensive and difficult to maintain, a superstar approach can work in business, but only if it's how the corporate culture was engineered from the beginning. "Google comes to mind," he says. "But they've been doing that from the very start; it's what they're known for. If you don't have that embedded in the organizational DNA, you can't suddenly switch gears and adopt a 'best-and-brightest' strategy."

Don't Forget the Farm
As appealing as it may be to plug holes with hot outside talent, companies that don't develop leaders from within are likely to lose out. "You want to win long term: You have to develop a reputation as an organization that brings in talent, invests in them, and gives them opportunities," says Story.

Story recommends a "draft and follow" approach in which managers are incentivized to build relationships with junior employees, and even senior execs have regular contact with lower-level team members.

"I think smart organizations today are looking at recruiting with an eye to where employees will be five years from now," agrees Kamikow. "The days of hiring a bookkeeper thinking they're going to be a bookkeeper their whole career, rather than a future chief controller, are long gone."

Hire People Who Love What They Do
Story's last piece of advice is the most critical and the most obvious—but also the most frequently disregarded. "I want to bring people in who have passion for the game," he says. "If I have to convince you that professional baseball is a good decision for you, well, that's a red flag to me."

Kamikow couldn't agree more. "If you look at the research out there, at lists of what people are looking for when they're considering where they want to work, money is way down on the list," he says. "The bottom line is, if someone comes to work for you just for the money, watch out—it won't be long before he's working for someone else just for the money."