By Marty Parker

I was recently in Augusta, Georgia watching the world’s best golfers compete on the infamous Augusta National. And what a weekend it was.

Our firm, Waterstone Human Capital, ran a Masters' Pool for this year's event. Regretfully, none of our entrants chose the winner, Angel Cabrera.

Are we surprised by this? Truthfully yes, because Cabrera's previous track record of success - in general, and at The Masters - has been terrific. The Masters is of course the only major played at the same course every year.

Let’s look at the numbers:

• In nine previous Masters, Cabrera had four Top 15 finishes;

• He is almost always in the Top 10 in driving distance and accuracy amongst the world’s best golfers—a requirement for the very long Augusta National;

• He is a previous winner of a major, having won the 2007 US Open;

And, most interestingly:

Johnny Miller, NBC golf analyst, predicted the week before the event that Angel Cabrera would win as “he has the right kind of game that fits Augusta, is loose under pressure and has a deft putting approach when needed.”

Not surprisingly, 44% of our entrants chose Tiger Woods to win. A good choice considering he has won four green jackets and holds 26 tournament records. Tiger also wins 38% of the tournaments he competes in. Curious though that no one picked anyone else who finished in the Top 10—not even Phil Mickelson. This is amazing.

At Waterstone Human Capital, we know two things when we're recruiting for the best talent on behalf of our clients:

First: past success is the best way to predict future success;

And,

To truly pick winning leaders we need to always look at the "environment” or culture where the candidate has been successful.

Angel Cabrera’s game fits Augusta National. Although he had not previously won there, he has been very successful on that course in the past. He's also won a major event.

Picking winners means looking at how they behave in a defined environment—in other words, it means understanding how candidates' behaviours fit in the organizational cultures of where they have been. Once this is known, you can much more easily predict how they will do in future organizational circumstances.

This is the method we use, when conducting our work. It's called The Waterstone Insights Search Process™.

Like Johnny Miller, we are preoccupied with "fit". Having great skills is just the price of entry, in business or at The Masters. Having the game that fits the culture of the environment can make all the difference in the world. Just ask Angel Cabrera!

Marty Parker is managing director of search firm Waterstone Human Capital, which each year produces Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures. He writes regularly for the National Post.