Eric Herrenkohl has written a book on hiring top talent that is a must read for top executives and HR specialists.  The book entitled, How to acquire a team of “A players’ was recently reviewed by Canada’s Globe and Mail.  According to the review,

It might well be that nothing has a greater impact on your business than hiring top people – “A players,” in the vernacular of the business world. But most of us worry when we start recruiting for an opening that we could unwittingly end up with a “C player” because it can be hard to differentiate through the normal recruitment process. Hiring seems like a crap shoot – sometimes we win big, and sometimes we lose.

Eric Herrenkohl, who advises companies on recruiting, says it doesn’t have to be that way. But you may have to change your recruiting practices to improve your odds. That will involve sharpening your understanding of where you are likely to find future top performers, and perpetually being in recruiting mode –even when you don’t have an opening, indeed even, he argues, when you’re in an economic trough and cutting back on staff.

… Understanding what you are looking for in recruits can be subtle.

Herrenkohl lays out a clear approach to hiring and finding the right top talent.  Check out the book.

Despite disappointing housing data and stagnant commercial construction, a glimpse of hope may be seen in painting/roofing companies with do-it-yourself options.

“When you see an economic slowdown, you tend to see a consumers paint themselves versus hiring a contractor,” said Ivan Marcuse, a vice president in equity research at Northcoast Research. “We like companies right now with DIY exposure and small maintenance and repair exposure.”

According to Marcuse, when a consumer visits Lowe’s (LOW) for paint supplies, Valspar (VAL) is a direct beneficiary of traffic. The same holds for Masco (MAS), which owns Behr, and RPM International (RPM).

In addition to DIY opportunities, Marcuse looks at companies with the ability to produce new, innovative products and grow market share as attractive stock picks.

“I think if you’re a holder of a Beacon (BECN) or Carlisle (CSL), you will want to remain a holder,” Marcuse said. “RPM, if you’re looking for a high-yield, safe play to go into, and who benefits from the DIY or the small-ticket repair and replacement market, that’s a place to go to.”

With an unfavorable margin environment likely in the near term, investors with money in the restaurant industry would be wise to look for companies with attractive unit-growth profiles, above-average return on investments and strong balance sheets, says Greg Schroeder, founder of Wisco Research.

“We are avoiding companies with limited top-line growth opportunities that are more dependent on the margin environment because we believe the environment will become less favorable in the second half of this year and into 2011,” said Schroeder, who cites rising seafood, beef and pork prices, and the one-year anniversary of the initial benefits many restaurants garnered from cost-structure savings initiatives as two contributing factors to a less favorable commodity dynamic.

“We are pointing investors to buy companies with strong top-line opportunities, companies that are opening new units with high return on investment and strong balance sheets,” Schroeder said. His current top stock picks include Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD), Chipotle (CMG) and BJ’s Restaurants (BJRI). “I also look for companies in niche markets that do something better than anyone else and are market share leaders.”