July 2008 Archives

As we talk to senior business leaders, one thing we find in common is that most leaders wish they had more alignment in their organization. Alignment means having all people, systems, and processes taking the organization in the same direction. When alignment occurs, we say that an organization has the organizational capability of "Strategic Unity."

In this video, Mark Nyman discusses the first half of the Strategic Unity capability - the clarification of the corporate organization strategy. He describes how to answer questions like: "How many businesses do we have" - "What are the relationships between those businesses" - "What is the role between the corporate office and individual business units?"

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

We've uncovered a few Do's and Don'ts while watching HR departments go through the process of transformation. In Part 3 of our series on HR Transformation, Mark Nyman shares a few of his favorite tips that will help you make your HR Transformation a real success:

• Link HR Transformation efforts to the company's strategy and business model and to the needs of external customers
• Benchmark against organizations that share a similar business model
• Separate transactional HR work from transformational HR work
• Think about outputs not departments
• Remember that "Strategic Work" is not the same as "Level in the Organization"

Click the play button below to watch Mark Nyman explain each of these tips in detail.

	Watch "HR Transformation (Part 2): Four Steps to HR Transformation" by Dave Ulrich.
	Watch "HR Transformation (Part 1): Making the case for HR Transformation" by Jon Younger.

Our research shows that companies with "Learning" as a capability had much higher business performance, not because they were right the first time, but because they were right over time. When you can generate new ideas and generalize those ideas across boundaries, you impact the performance of the organization and deliver sustainable value. In this video segment, Dave Ulrich talks about how to build learning as a capability in your organization.

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

Accountability means that high performance counts. Accountability becomes an organizational capability when it becomes ingrained in the culture. In this video, Norm Smallwood explains the four requirements that create an accountable organization: Clear Goals, Measures, Consequences, and Feedback. He highlights common weaknesses in the system and important areas to focus efforts in order to build accountability as a capability in your organization.

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

Efficiency is not the only key to success, but if we can't manage our costs in an efficient and effective way, we will be out of business. Dave Ulrich provides a summary of "Efficiency" as an organization capability. When we manage productivity, project management, and process improvement we build into our organization a mindset of efficiency and set the stage for success.

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

Your firm has developed a leadership brand statement - a clear, simple statement of what you want your leaders to be known for, but how can you tell whether you and your fellow leaders at all levels are living up to it?

In this video segment, Norm Smallwood answers the questions: What is the secret to good assessment? What can we learn from those who do this well? And how do these general principles apply to assessment of leadership brand?.

	The ideas in this video are explored in-depth in the recent book Leadership Brand by Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood published by Harvard Business School Press.
	View Norm's video "Introduction to Leadership Brand"
	Learn how to create a statement of leadership brand

We've worked with many HR departments as they go through the process of transformation. What we've discovered is a four-step model for really doing transformation well. Successful projects address these steps by answering four basic questions: Why - What - How - Who. In part two of our series on HR Transformation, Dave Ulrich discusses why each step is critical to the success of your HR Transformation project.

Watch "HR Transformation (Part 1):Making the case for HR Transformation" by Jon Younger.