New Decade, Renewed Focus - Kincannon & Reed

In many ways, the start of a new decade is no different than any other January. It’s a mostly artificial designation that doesn’t directly impact the challenges and opportunities you faced last month—or the ones that will no doubt occupy your time in the coming year.

With this new decade, I have accepted the opportunity to serve Kincannon & Reed as President. This is a new focus for me and a renewed focus for the organization. The turning of the calendar is a good time to pause and reflect, not just on the clients and individuals our work has impacted over the past 40 years, but also on what we see as our future. As we move with our clients into the 2020s, we are reviewing all the ways in which we help our clients identify and attract the right leaders for their organizations and perfect their talent acquisition strategies.

For example, we recently put under a microscope the ongoing series of articles that appear under our Food for Thought masthead. How useful can this content be in the future for our clients and others within the industry who are investing their valuable time to read them? And how can we make each piece even more beneficial?

Why We Serve Food for Thought

As we partner with clients across the food chain, we see firsthand what’s driving change within these industries. Some of what we see is daunting. All is exciting. In the coming year, Food for Thought will share some of what we’ve uncovered in a clear, concise, compelling format that should challenge your thinking and possibly your strategies. Count on it.

What You’ll Find Here (And What You Won’t)

If our purpose is to share actionable insights about the food value chain, how specifically do we intend to make sure that happens? For starters, you’ll hear useful insights from experts, not just articles you could find elsewhere. You’ll also get practical advice on the challenges and implications of acquiring the right talent for today’s demands. Finally, you’ll learn about the most relevant and intriguing topics from your world, even ones that are not directly tied to executive search.

A Sample of What’s on Our 2020 Menu

We wanted to share a peek at some of the articles likely to appear throughout the coming year. Currently, our editorial calendar includes the following topics:

Is Artificial Intelligence for Real? What’s hype and what’s happening so fast it will impact everything—including talent acquisition—sooner than later?
Digital Disruption: Much, Much, Much More to Come. Where is agriculture and food on the digital disruption spectrum and what are the implications for search?
The Real Problem with That Little White Resume Lie. What’s the difference between embellishing and falsifying facts? Does integrity still matter for executives who could have 5+ careers in their lifetimes?
2021 Talent Strategies. Why will a sound talent strategy always be key to success and what are your next, best moves for the new calendar year?
How Worlds Can Cohere Instead of Collide. A closer look at the perils and promise of integrating innovation and process cultures.
Surviving and Thriving in the Diversity Decade. What does a truly diversified talent pool look like beyond commonly discussed criteria like gender, race and ethnicity?

How Can Food for Thought Best Serve You?

We encourage you to share feedback whenever you find that one of the articles has hit a sweet spot. And please let us know if any fall short of providing the practical insights you need to succeed. Of course, we’re also interested in turning any topic suggestions you might have into future articles. We’re always eager to start a conversation and hope you’re looking forward to our next article about artificial intelligence as much as we’re enjoying the process of putting it together for you.