“Often the best solution to a management problem is the right person.”
– Edwin Booz (1887 – 1951), founder of Booz Allen and subsequent iteration firms
Tempted to replace “often” with “always,” I came across this concept while reading the July – August Harvard Business Review article, “Why We Love to Hate HR…and What HR Can Do About It.”
Talent comes first. Always. It’s why my REELAX Leadership Formula is best tackled in chronological order, with the “R Factor” coming first:
- Recruit and Retain the best talent available. It is better to be short staffed than poorly staffed.
- Create an Environment where success is the most likely outcome.
- Set Expectations that are so clear they can not be misinterpreted.
- Lead! You can manage things / processes, etc, but we must lead people.
- Put in place Accountability that is consistent, relentless and that runs both up and down the organization, every hour of every day.
- X-ray everything we do until we understand why we’re doing it, why something happened or didn’t happen.
It all starts with people. And this is why HR should be a strategic, direct-to-the-CEO part of every company that plans to make a difference. Unless the CEO and Board are directly connected to the HR leader, it is very difficult for a company to get this key function right. And notice the conjunction is “and.” The CEO and the Board. According to The Conferece Board and the Wall Street Journal, 24% of CEO’s will ultimately be fired — by the Board — and unless that Board is connected to and in day-to-day lockstep with a solid people strategy, the next CEO will likely meet the same fate.
The right people. First. Difference making commitment.
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