STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION AND THE PEOPLE PROFESSIONALS

Job Number One when implementing strategy is PEOPLE!  Getting the right people on the bus and ensuring they are in the right seats and getting the wrong people off the bus is the first step.  As I shared last week, Collins’ rationale for starting with the right team is based on three simple truths:

1. If you begin with “who,” rather than “what,” you can more easily adapt to a changing world.
2. If you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away.  Right people don’t need to be tightly managed or fired up; they will be self-motivated by the inner drive to produce the best results and to be part of creating something great, and 
3. If you have the wrong people, it doesn’t matter whether you discover the right direction; you still won’t have a great company.  Great vision without great people is irrelevant.

The right people in the right positions is therefore non-negotiable.  Assuming you tick this box and you have the right people in the right positions, what do you do next?  You need to manage and lead these people.  As CEO or a member of the leadership team, what do you need to help you work with your team to deliver on your promises to your stakeholders?

THE PEOPLE/HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

So, my question to you is, what role does HR play in your organization?  Do you relegate HR to an operational or transactional role?  Is your HR department spending the majority of its time and resources on payroll, leave management, processing medical insurance claims, or organizing hikes and limes to the beach?  Even more important, does your Head of HR agree that this limited transactional focus is what people management is all about?

In today’s world, where change is the only constant, and innovation and creativity are critical to survival and growth, attracting, retaining and developing the best talent is more important than ever.  Therefore, if you agree that people are your most important resource, why is people management not given the respect and attention it deserves?  This suggests that the Chief People Officer (CPO) may be the best person to assume the CEO or General Management position in your company.

Unfortunately, talent managers are usually not top of mind when organizations are searching for their next CEO.  This may be a missed opportunity because a recent study by Dave Ulrich, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, and Ellie Filler, a senior client partner at executive recruiting firm Korn Ferry found that CPOs are not only among the top three highest paid professions, just behind CEOs and COOs, but also they exhibit leadership qualities that significantly overlap with their CEOs.

Given the importance of people management, Jack Welch in his book “Winning” suggests, and I agree, that you should elevate HR to a position of power and primacy in the organization.  He also suggests that “the head of HR should be the second most important person in any organization … at least equal to the CFO.  In fact the CEO should treat the Director of HR and the CFO with equal respect.

The best HR people are a kind of hybrid: one part pastor, who hears all sins and complaints without recrimination, and one part parent, who loves and nurtures, but gives it to you fast and straight when you’re off track

I believe that the HR head, although not in the business, needs to understand the business and must see their role as helping managers build leaders and careers; helping all team members understand their roles and their purpose.  If your  head of HR is focused on HR for HR’s sake, if he or she is happy managing benefits and events, then you have the wrong person in the position.  You need your HR head to be the person responsible for people and purpose.

So, what are the qualities you should be looking for in a good people professional and a world-class HR team?  Jack believes that:

“… the best HR people are a kind of hybrid: one part pastor, who hears all sins and complaints without recrimination, and one part parent, who loves and nurtures, but gives it to you fast and straight when you’re off track….  They know the business—its every detail. They understand the tensions between marketing and manufacturing, or between two executives who once went after the same job.  They see the hidden hierarchies in people’s minds—the invisible org chart of political connections that exists in every company.  They know the players and the history….  They have integrity oozing out of them.  That integrity comes from unrelenting candor and trustworthiness.  Pastor-parents listen with uncommon care, tell the truth, and hold confidences tight.  They also know how to settle a disagreement” (Winning, Welch).

In his book, “The Hard Thing About Hard Things”, Ben Horowitz also believes that good HR professionals should meet the following requirements:

• Excellent process design and control skills: the ability to accurately measure critical management processes.
• The CEO’s Trust: must trust his thinking and judgement and must fully support HR in holding managers to a high-quality standard.
• Managers’ Trust: Managers must believe that HR is there to help them improve rather than police them.  If an HR leader hoards knowledge, makes power plays, or plays politics, she will be useless.
• Industry Knowledge: The head of HR must be deeply networked in the industry and stay abreast of all the latest developments with respect to compensation, benefits, best recruiting practices, etc.
• The ability to give candid, consistent feedback through regular performance and compensation reviews built on a well-structured, transparent, principle-based system.

RESPECT

Great companies are built on a foundation of respect.

I believe that a good HR professional helps you and your leadership team to treat people like people, “yuh know what ah mean”?  They help you and your managers to treat people with dignity and respect.  As Jim Collins concludes in BE 2.0:

“Great companies are built on a foundation of respect.  They respect their customers, they respect themselves, they respect their relationships. Most important, they respect their people—people at all levels, and from all backgrounds.

They respect their people, and therefore they trust them.  They respect their people, and therefore they’re open and honest with them.  They respect their people, and therefore they give them freedom to act and make decisions.  They respect their people, and therefore believe in their inherent creativity, intelligence, and ability to solve problems.

They respect their people, and therefore expect high performance.  They set high standards and stiff challenges because they believe their people can meet the standard and rise to the challenge.  Ultimately, employees in outstanding companies attain consistent tactical excellence because someone believes they can.”

It is time to walk the talk and back up our assertions that our people are our most important resource by elevating the HR professional to their rightful place.  Let us give them the freedom to help us get the most out of our people while helping them to build careers and become leaders in their own right.

Have a disciplined week as you work to build your financial freedom.  If you find this advice helpful, please share with your friends and colleagues.  As usual, I look forward to your questions and comments.  Be safe.  Take good care, and if you can, help someone in need.

Cheers, Nigel

Nigel Romano, Partner, Moore Trinidad & Tobago, Chartered Accountants