leadership matters
By Karen Stone, CHRE
This month’s publication focuses on
one of the most important themes
facing the business landscape today:
disruption.
It’s a common refrain in business books,
articles, case studies and probably even
within your own organization – how can
we be nimble enough to adapt to a rapidly
changing and uncertain business environment?
How can we stay one step ahead?
In this issue’s cover story, Dave Ulrich
highlights one of the most tangible examples
of what happens when you don’t
keep up.
“Of the original Fortune 500
companies in North America,
how many still exist today?” he
asked. “Sixty. That’s an 87 per cent failure
rate for the biggest companies in North
America.”
So many highly successful companies
have folded and failed – companies where
just a few years prior, the thought would
have seemed unimaginable. Adapting to
a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous
landscape is a challenge that takes
constant adjustment, work, foresight – and
the embracement of a “disruptive” mindset.
And the key takeaway for us is this: HR
has a central role to play in ensuring businesses
are equipped with the knowledge
and skill to excel in this environment.
For a truly effective HR professional, it’s
not just about facilitating organizational
change. It’s about being a trusted strategic
business advisor, one who actively works
to shape the organization’s future by providing
insights and proposed solutions
– to support its people and its business
goals.
As Ulrich said, it’s not just about building
a good culture anymore – it’s about
building the right culture to support business
strategy. Your people are responsible
for delivering the strategy and creating
the experience for each customer, client or
partner your business touches. So as the
stewards of talent, HR essentially is responsible
for delivering that strategy and
creating that experience.
Nattapol Sritongcom/Shutterstock.com
DISRUPTIVE Leadership
HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA ❚ JULY 2017 ❚ 5