America Needs Talent: Attracting, Educating & Deploying the 21st-Century Workforce

by Jamie Merisotis

"This book should be on the desk of every 2016 Presidential candidate." —Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO, New America With falling wages and rising inequality, persistent unemployment, failing schools, and broken cities, have America’s best days come and gone? In America Needs Talent , Jamie Merisotis, a globally recognized leader in philanthropy, higher education, and public policy, explains why talent is needed to usher in a new era of innovation and success, and why deliberate choices must be made by government, the private sector, education, and individuals to grow talent in America. What if you paid for education based on what you actually learned, instead of the time you spent in class? What if your visa application was processed as if you were an asset to our nation’s growing talent pool, instead of by Homeland Security? Merisotis proposes bold ideas to successfully deploy the world’s most talented people—from rethinking higher education to transforming immigration laws, revitalizing urban hubs, and encouraging private sector innovation. The outlook may be gloomy now, but it doesn’t need to be. The second American Century can happen—by developing and deploying the next thinkers, makers, and risk takers who will power America’s knowledge economy in the 21st century.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

Jamie Merisotis is a globally recognized leader in philanthropy, education, and public policy. Since 2008, he has served as president and CEO of Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. He previously served as co-founder and president of the nonpartisan, Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Higher Education Policy and as executive director of a bipartisan national commission on college affordability appointed by the U.S. president and congressional leaders. Merisotis is the author of America Needs Talent, which was named a Top 10 Business Book of 2016 by Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association.

Merisotis is a frequent media commentator and contributor. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, National Journal, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Politico, Roll Call, Washington Monthly, and other publications.

His work includes experience as an adviser and consultant in southern Africa, the former Soviet Union, Europe, and other parts of the world. A respected analyst and innovator, Merisotis is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Merisotis serves as chairman of the Council on Foundations in Washington, D.C., and past chairman of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, the world's largest museum for children. He also serves on the boards of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership and the United Kingdom-based European Access Network. He lives with his wife Colleen O'Brien and their children, Benjamin and Elizabeth, in Indianapolis.

For more information, visit https://www.jamiemerisotis.com/

Reviews

[Daniel Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of good ideas, including some that I will hopefully be able to utilize in my career. Also loved the positive mentions of Michigan!

[Graeme · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book! Short, positive, and focused on moving forward without complaining about who is holding us back. His five ways to attract, educate, and deploy talent make complete sense. Improving our higher education system and making our immigration policy proactive and creative, similar to Australia's, will take us most of the way to driving a stronger, more competitive economy. Very refreshing.

[Ji Hea Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solutions-focused without giving into the doom and gloom or overly blue sky thinking that often pervades this type of book. Not yet decided on the balance of thought exercise vs practical path forward of the content.

Points on immigration are well-taken as well as the observed disconnect between the Department of Education and Labor, respectively. Gross Educational Product is an area where it felt like the content edged more towards a thought exercise that provided a starting point that could use refinement --- especially considering mismatches between types of jobs w a supply shortage and education obtained, livable wage offered by said jobs, and the future of automation.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a slightly loose but accessible overview of the skills gap in the United States and what might be done about it. In the 20th Century, we cured polio and undertook manned space flight. In order to successfully address the challenges of the 21st Century, the talent America needs is not the kind profiled in reality TV, but rather, it is knowledge, skills, abilities, values, interests, and personality traits that must be cultivated through innovative new methods and collaborative relationships.

[Andrew Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview, serves as a great introduction to some of the ideas that may help us utilize and generate the human capital in this country. Certainly felt proud of the good mentions of Grand Rapids Michigan, being from that part of the state. Would like to know where else to look for more in depth explanations of these ideas and organizations who may already be working on some of them.

[Josh Charvat · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ideas seem a little half baked. Overall, the reasoning and support that Jamie provides for his 5 main points appear quite shallow.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book through the GoodReads book giveaways. That said, I really wanted to read the book since it is relevant to my work and career. The premise was solid - that we need to be focusing on people's talents - not what they learn in class. How they are applied, what they can bring to the table in the workforce. The format of the book was clear: The current issue, what is proposed and why and which groups should be involved.

I felt that the book focused mostly on the first and third sections - the current issue and which external groups can help remedy these issues. What I felt was missing was more detail and description on what is proposed and why. That seems to be the meat of the matter and each of the bulleted points could have been their own sections, if not chapters.

The examples used were good. I'm glad I read the book. It has made me think about what I do and in the context of the author's premise. I would have found it so much more helpful if more time was spent on developing talent vs. what other sectors can do.

I've already recommended this book to the president of my institution and will look forward to his thoughts.

[Jo * Smut-Dickted * · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book on audible. The narrator took some time for me to get on board with - his voice is rather dry and not that engaging but, after a while, I found the subtlety he used to be pretty compelling. The topic is one near and dear to my heart and an arena in which I'm working career wise. The concept of developing talent - through a myriad of ways - was well done. It is a bit of a pipe dream but getting it out there certainly helps - and changing models of higher ed along with government and state/local policy changes would go a long way to moving us forward for the needs of this century.

[Tony May · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am currently a member of a school board. This book has really made think about what we should be doing in our public school, working with local towns and businesses to prepare our students for life after high school. This is line with my thinking about the future, and benefits, of higher education.