Culture – Strategy - Talent

Organizational Rock-Paper-ScissorsSteve Boese Sept 2014

Presenter Info• Steve Boese• Co-Chair HR Technology Conference • HR Exec Magazine Technology Editor• Co-Host of HR Happy Hour Show and Podcast• Co-organizer HRevolution• Blogger at Steve’s HR Tech• Your New Best Friend

Prologue

So is that really true?

Does ‘Culture’ really eat Strategy for Breakfast?

And what does that even actually mean?

In the real world, not in a book or on Twitter.

Can we even understand let alone measure ‘Culture?’

And what about Talent, you know the actual capability of the people in the organization?

Will this slide ever end?

1. Culture

2. Strategy

3. Talent

4. Achieving Zen-like harmony

5. Wrap-up, Q&A

Agenda

1

<We have an awesome culture! Yeah, us too!>

Culture

Culture Problem #1

<You are faking it>

<the employees don’t believe in it>

Culture Problem #2

<Everyone around here seems the same>

Culture Problem #3

<‘Fun’ doesn’t always equal ‘Functional’>

Why culture can’t be the sole answer• You don’t really know what it means – Sure, we like to talk about our

companies using terms like ‘family’ and such, but at the end of the day business is business

• You don’t ‘sell’ culture – Not separately anyway. You still have to have a ‘real’ product/service that customers want. Zappos still better have the Converse shoes I like and in my size or I am not buying no matter how quirky they are

• Culture starts with ‘cult’ – I don’t need to tell you all the negative connotations with cults, but just remember there is a fine line between ‘Hiring for fit’ and ‘Hiring people just like me’

• Productivity – At the risk of sounding like a ‘Get off of my lawn’ old guy, having a great workplace culture is no guarantee of sustained excellence or success. Sometimes ‘fit’ keeps low performers around and chases away great ones

2

<this is about to start sounding very hard>

Strategy

Strategy Problem #1

Strategy Problem #2

Strategy Problem #3

• Some of the best strategies are extremely complex, take years to develop and might not work anyway

• Once you have a strategy, it can get really easy to hold on to that strategy for far too long

• Knowing when to adapt, pivot, or reverse is an imperfect science at best

• In the end, it might not matter anyway. Customers ARE NOT rational. (Pet Rock)

Why a great strategy is not enough

3

Talent

<We only hire ‘Top’ talent. Yeah, us too.>

Talent Problem #1

Talent Problem #2

Fun Fact!

97.8 percent of Wharton MBA graduates in 2013 received job offers within three months of graduation, with median base salaries rising to $125,000

Talent Problem #3

Every company is a Tech company

Why you can’t rely on just talentYou can’t find nearly enough of

all the talented, REALLY talented people you need.

And you need the very best people in order to win championships. And all your competitors do too.

The most talented people have almost limitless options. And they know it.

Chasing talent, trying to keep talent, poaching new talent is a never ending, hard to win game, (unless you are Google)

4

<let’s all take a deep, cleansing breath now>

Harmony

We’re conditioned to choose one

It’s not really a choice

The Circle

Culture

Strategy

TalentLizard

Spock

The Circle

Culture

Talent

Strategy

Informs

Defines

Enables

Some ways to keep it balancedHiring – Make sure your ‘hiring for cultural fit’ gimmick isn’t driving too much of

your hiring decisions. Challenge your hiring managers to consider the value of new and fresh ideas that often come from people that might not seem to ‘fit’

Technology – You can’t afford to spend time on the things that are not part of the CST triangle. Outsource, automate, eliminate all the extraneous tasks you can to focus on what drives results

Development – Give people opportunity to do more of what they enjoy, what they are good at, and where they can develop adjacent skills. You have to get more out of talent because chasing ‘top’ talent is a never-ending and frustrating game

Business – HR keeps getting told they need to ‘understand the business’, but while true, that is not enough. We need to really understand how people/talent directly and indirectly drive business outcomes and results. The closer you can connect talent to strategy, the more balanced you can get

Four Closing Thoughts…

<Canada’s top export is?>

Culture – Pros: Unique/compelling, can’t be copied or stolen, binds people together

Cons: Culture = Cult, lack of diversity, doesn’t scale or sell

Strategy – Pros: Drives decisions, comprehensive, unifies people/mission

Cons: HARD, Needs constant revision, can be copied

Talent – Pros: People are #1 asset, magnetic, increase in value over time

Cons: ALSO HARD, Needs constant attention, can be stolen, $$$$

Harmony– Pros: Allows flexibility, plays to strengths, keeps organization nimble

Cons: None really. Except you have to constantly tell the ‘Culture eats Strategy’ folks they are wrong

Or, what I should have said at the beginning

?

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