James Reed, chairman of Reed Global, says he wants recruiting on the basis of mindset to become normal practice. Speaking at the launch of a new book, Put your Mindset to Work, by Reed and Dr Paul G Stoltz in London last week, Reed said: “That’s our goal absolutely. The challenge is the right people for the right job right now. Making bad recruitment decisions costs you money.” It’s also very painful when you hire the wrong people and have to ask them to leave, he added.

Reed spoke about research presented in the book indicating that mindset was more important than skillset for employers when hiring. “Mindset emphatically trumps skills,” he told the audience. Mindset is more than just attitude, said Reed. “Mindset is the lens though which you navigate life, whereas attitude is almost superficial.” Mindset also predicts earnings, and the speed at which a person is promoted, added Reed.

The research found that examples of mindset, such as honesty, integrity and flexibility, fall into three broad categories: global, good and grit hence the ’3G’ mindset. Reed said that Reed (the company) had now developed a tool that could measure mindset. The tool is available online at www.3gmindset.com. Reed Specialist Employment has begun to use the tool for candidates applying to work for the company, and it is also being incorporated into the work that Reed in Partnership does to help the unemployed into work, said Reed.

Following its US launch, Reed’s book reached number one on Amazon.com, and was the number one career book at Amazon.co.uk.