Abstract

This chapter shows how the language of “talent management” (TM), and the ways in which this language has subsequently been used to imply what should be involved in the field, has evolved over time. The label TM has brought with it many “fuzzy concepts”, many implicit notions and assumptions, and indeed some overt ideologies. However, language is important, for it can be used to allow those who take us through the history of TM interested in a topic to “gain entry” to associated ideas, thereby changing their own practice and mindset.