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The Critical Link Between Strategy and Talent
For an organization to succeed, its talent must evolve in lockstep with its strategy. When a company redirects its strategic focus, the requirements for its talent pool shift accordingly. This is a foundational concept for strategic HR: as the strategy changes, the talent equation must also change.
For example, when Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shifted the company's focus from traditional software like MS Office toward cloud computing and mobile operating systems, the "filter" for talent changed. The skills and expertise needed to drive the old strategy were different from those required to execute the new one. This adjustment is essential, especially when the strategic change is disruptive.
The High Cost of a Talent Mismatch
In a rapidly changing business environment, failing to align talent with strategy can lead to significant setbacks. Challenges and disruptions can emerge from traditional competitors as well as new market entrants. The inability to act on a new opportunity due to a lack of internal capabilities can be devastating.
Consider a company that identified a unique business opportunity but lost its momentum during the decision-making process. A competitor seized the chance and moved forward. The first company's stumbling block was a lack of in-house talent with the capability to move into the new business segment. While they were reviewing the talent landscape, their competitor already had the necessary talent capabilities and executed.
Cultivating a Talent-Centric Mindset
Growth is the most pressing imperative for organizations today, and the biggest challenge in that quest is talent. More specifically, leaders must be talent-focused. Leadership must develop a talent-centric alignment with their strategic plans. This mindset creates a laser-focus throughout the organization on having the right people, in the right place, at the right time.
This "crew mindset" ensures that the entire organization acts in harmony to execute strategies for winning results. With the right combination of talent and organizational strategy, transformation can occur by:
- Engaging people
- Igniting potential
- Overcoming inertia
- Enhancing teamwork
- Coordinating actions
Human resources leaders are at the center of this intersection, tasked with assembling a master puzzle where the final picture can change at any moment.
Continuous Adaptation Is the New Normal
Organizations that master the alignment of talent and strategy will gain a competitive edge, but that advantage is temporary. The drumbeat of innovation is relentless, requiring businesses to stay on a perpetual treadmill of improvement and adaptation. The auto industry learned this decades ago when import carmakers entered the market with new technology and production orthodoxies, challenging the dominance of established players like GM and Ford. Coasting is no longer an option.
The days of normalcy are in the past. To survive and thrive, organizations must accept and adapt to constant change.
Update Your Talent Strategy with Your Business Strategy
Most companies update their business strategy at least once a year. Your talent strategy must evolve concurrently. A consistent and relentless re-examination of your talent strategy is necessary to ensure its continuous alignment with the business. It is vital to learn from and duplicate what works while addressing what does not.
Ultimately, a strategy is only as good as its execution. Keeping strategy and execution tightly paired will strengthen your organization's capabilities to weather the storm of disruption and outperform competitors. '''