The Best Talent Wins

Increasingly it won’t be the marketplace, technology, competition, research or development that accelerates business growth.  Sure, all those things matter. But the people deliver the performance that executes on the plan. Put your people strategy first…profits follow.

Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, said it well in a New York Times interview recently when talking about culture and leadership, “People ask me what’s the most important function when you’re starting an organization or setting up the kind of culture and values that are going to endure.  The discipline I believe so strongly in is HR, and it’s the last discipline that gets funded. Marketing, manufacturing — all these things are important. But more often than not, the head of HR does not have a seat at the table. Big mistake.”

If you are in the practice of people (HR; Leadership) NOW is the time where you can contribute increasingly more value to the business.  NOW is the time where you can drive and sustain a competitive advantage through proactive people practices.  NOW is the time to focus on talent!

We’ll be workshopping through the Trends, Technology and Transformation shaping the practice of people strategy in Indianapolis on October 21 and in Minneapolis on November 3.  Join us for the conversation, networking or just come out for the HRCI strategic credits…we’ll have some fun too!

I recently closed my conversation with Don MacPherson, President of Modern Survey talking about talent.  I asked the employee engagement guru if he agreed with my sentiment that NOW is the time to invest and elevate talent practices.  He challenged that thinking, indicating the right time for both increased attention and subsequent action was about six months ago.  Perhaps if your organization is just starting to make talent practices a priority you are a bit behind.  Here are those thoughts from Don and I look forward to continuing this conversation in both Indy and Minny in the coming weeks!