June 2008 Archives

On behalf of everyone here at The RBL Group, I would like to sincerely congratulate our colleague Dave Ulrich, along with the outstanding consulting associates and members of the RBL Institute who were recently named HR Magazine's "Most Influential People in HR".

I must say that I was not surprised to read about the various recognitions -- Dave Ulrich of RBL and David Fairhurst of McDonalds Europe were recognized as "The Most Influential People in HR." Additionally, RBL Institute members Neil Roden (Royal Bank of Scotland), Duncan Brown  (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Stephen Kelly (BBC), and Madalyn Brooks (Procter & Gamble) were each named to the "Top 25 Practitioners" list. Finally, our dear associates Nick Holley (Henley Business School / RBL Consulting Partner) and Tony McCarthy (BA & CIPD) were recognized in the "Ones to Watch" category.

Click on the icon above to see the complete list from HR Magazine. Congratulations to all!

Tim Kapp, Editor
tkapp@rbl.net

An effective organization is not defined by the number of layers of management, systems in place, or head count but by ability to respond to business demands. Organization capabilities emerge when a company delivers on the combined competencies and abilities of its individuals. The individual competencies grow into organization capabilities when they stop being tied to any one individual or any one program. In this video Dave talks briefly about the 11 capabilities the RBL Group has identified that well-managed companies tend to have.

	Organization Capabilities are discussed in depth in the book How Leaders Build Value. by Norm Smallwood and Dave Ulrich.
	View in-depth videos on each of the organization capabilities.

We all know how crucial talent is to success. Dave Ulrich talks about how we build talent as a capability in our company. Of the countless studies and ideas prevalent regarding talent The RBL Group has boiled it down to three key things. Competence is the first key. Do our employees have the skills they will need for tomorrow? The second key discussed is Commitment.  Are our employees willing to work hard? The final key is Contribution. How do our employees feel about what they do and their impact on the overall organization? There is a formula for talent and when we manage these three things will build a great capability for talent within a company.

	Talent as an organization capability is discussed in depth in the book How Leaders Build Value. by Norm Smallwood and Dave Ulrich.
	View in-depth videos on each of the organization capabilities.

An organization's capability for speed of change often determines its overall competitiveness. Management thinking has shifted from understanding and managing change to building and maintaining speed. Change deals with new ways of doing things; speed focuses on how quickly those new ways are implemented.  An organization imbued with speed has intangible value for employees, customers, and investors.  Speed excites.  When organizations act quickly, employees have a sense of momentum and purpose rather than indolence and lethargy.  In this video Norm Smallwood gives four factors that can be focused on to increase speed of change.

	Speed as an organization capability is discussed in depth in the book How Leaders Build Value. by Norm Smallwood and Dave Ulrich.
	View in-depth videos on each of the organization capabilities.

How do we move HR from a platform of administration and operational support to a platform of organizational change and credible activism? That is the question answered in our new four-part series on HR Transformation. In part one, Jon Younger makes the case for HR Transformation. (4 min)

We refer to the connection between a firm's market brand and behavior of internal employees and organization processes as a firm's "Leadership Brand". Wal-Mart, for example, is known for "low cost" and should build a leadership brand emphasize behaviors that reduce costs (e.g. doing process re-engineering, contracting aggressively with suppliers, and managing to a budget). Marriott, on the other hand, is known for service and subsequently seeks consistent behavior among its leaders (knowing customers, listening to customer, responding to customers, and so forth.)

Building on last month's topic,"Making the Case for Leadership", Norm Smallwood discusses the value and process of developing a formal leadership brand statement.

	The ideas in this video are explored in-depth in the recent book "Leadership Brand" by Norm Smallwood and Dave Ulrich published by Harvard Business Press.
	View norm's video "Introduction to Leadership Brand"