The talent solution: aligning strategy and people to achieve extraordinary results

334 Pages·1998·1.6 MB·English

by  Edward L. Gubman

THE TALENT SOLUTION
Aligning Strategy and People to
Achieve Extraordinary Results
Edward L. Gubman

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DOI:10.1036/0071368000
To Rachel for her inspiration and advice,
to Mike and Charlie for their enthusiastic support,
and to Cassie for keeping me company while I wrote.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Collaboration is one of our core values at Hewitt Associates, and
this book is a direct result of many collaborative efforts and team-
work. It’s a product of years of consulting and managing in a sup-
portive, inclusive, team-oriented culture where no single person
really accomplishes much, but together we regularly create miracles.
I take full responsibility for what’s said in these pages, but if there is
credit to be given, it must be shared with many others.
I have been interested in how to align, engage, and measure
people’s performance for many years. These topics came into much
sharper focus several years ago when we developed our Improving
Business Results With People consulting model. This was a large-scale
collaboration among several Hewitt consultants, including the prac-
tice leaders and consultants quoted in this book. Another set of in-
sights came when I started working closely with the ideas expressed
in The Discipline of Market Leaders by Michael Treacy and Fred
Wiersema. I particularly appreciate Fred’s openness and sharing of
ideas.
There are several Hewitt people I want to thank publicly, though
in doing so I know I will miss others whom I should mention as
well. Christine Seltz provided early enthusiasm and assistance for
this project. I could not have started without her. Dale Gifford, our
CEO, generously allowed me some time away from other responsi-
bilities to write and offered encouragement throughout the long pro-
cess. My long-time associate and collaborator, Barbara Grala, typed
and retyped the manuscript, kept me connected to the office but pro-
tected me from intrusions on writing time, and expressed so much
excitement about the book that she was a great source of motivation.
Danielle McDonald took on many additional management tasks so I
could concentrate on writing, and Eddie Franco covered extra client
assignments for me.
I also want to thank Diana Reace, who did much of the second-
ary research for the book. She was helped by our peerless Hewitt
library and research staff. John Bausch, Lori Grubs, Peter Van
Susteren, and Jenny Wich read the manuscript carefully and offered
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vi Acknowledgments
detailed and wise critiques. Pamela Filler worked diligently on cre-
ating and coordinating much of the Hewitt marketing support.
Denise Clutts put in long hours revising the manuscript and graph-
ics. Special thanks also go to Sandy Cook and my colleagues in the
Organization Effectiveness Practice who offered constant ideas and
encouragement, and to my Hewitt friends around the world for their
advice and reassurance.
A big thank-you is due to the clients who allowed me to learn
from them, interview them, and write about them. Their words and
stories give life to the messages in this book. I hope I have done you
justice in portraying many of the outstanding ways you are aligning
strategy and people to achieve extraordinary results. The best part
of consulting is the clients.
Finally, a huge thank-you goes to my family. Writing is a soli-
tary task, and though I was home, I wasn’t really present. My wife,
Rachel, was never-ending in her support for this project and is a
great advisor on issues large and small. My sons, Mike and Charlie,
were more enthusiastic about this book than any other work project
I ever tackled. Thanks, guys.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
PART ONE
ALIGN 11
1 Strategy Implementation Through People 12
2 Align to Business Results and Strategy 31
3 Build Capabilities to Deliver Results 45
4 Define What People Need to Do 56
5 Build a Workforce Strategy 75
6 Use the Lead Practices that Fit Your Style 98
7 How Different Styles Manage Talent 116
8 Align Leadership and Other Interactions 142
PART TWO
ENGAGE 165
9 Your People Are More Valuable than Ever 166
10 Engage Your Employees to Energize Results 186
11 Innovative Practices t hat Engage Talent 204
PART THREE
MEASURE 223
12 Measure What Matters 224
13 How to Balance and Cascade Measures 238
14 Manage What You Measure 253
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viii Contents
PART FOUR
IMPLEMENT 277
15 Improving Strategy Implementation 278
CLOSE The Era of Talent 292
APPENDIX What’s the Evidence that Managing Talent
Makes a Difference? 294
REFERENCES 316
INDEX 319
INTRODUCTION
AWAKE AT NIGHT
Recently I listened to a brilliant presentation on a company’s new
business strategy. The person leading it was the company’s head
strategist—very smart guy with an MBA from a great business school.
He took the group I was in through a detailed and elegant explana-
tion of the process the company used to create the new approach.
Then he introduced the strategy in a very easy-to-understand way.
We covered customer needs, business capabilities, the new operat-
ing model, and the integrated activities the company would follow
to ensure uniqueness and advantage.
There was only one thing missing. He never mentioned people,
the one element the company really needed to address so it could
change the way it did business and adopt the new strategy. This was
even more noticeable because at the time of the presentation the com-
pany had several high-level searches going on for talent absolutely
essential to implementing the new direction.
I see this all the time, and it mystifies me. When I talk to execu-
tives, most of them define their strategies with great clarity and con-
fidence. Then I’ll ask, “What keeps you awake at night?” All over
the world they get a very serious expression on their faces and tell

me the same thing, and it’s not the business strategy: “Talent—I don’t
know how I am going to get and keep the talent I need to build my
business.” Yet there’s rarely a strategy or plan to address the cause
of their insomnia.
Consider this:
• Within a three-month span, four high-profile corpora-
tions—Apple, AT&T, Waste Management, and Walt
Disney—all fired their newly hired CEOs or presidents
because they couldn’t perform to expectations.
• Michigan and Ohio began expensive national advertising
campaigns to lure new skilled workers because unemploy-
ment levels were at record lows, despite employers raising
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