Editor's Note

Vision, Clarity Solve the People Paradox
Don't be alarmed by the fact that "Dr. Jac's Notebook" is not in its usual place on our editorial page. I guarantee that you won't be deprived of Dr. Jac Fitz-enz's wisdom this month. For this issue, he has authored a thought-provoking article on talent management that will set your wheels turning on how to rethink assumptions about HR's ability to improve the bottom line.

Under the banner, "The Future of HR," we have published Dr. Jac's thoughts and wisdom on organizational alignment, growth and talent management. In our May/June issue, we published "Workforce Intelligence: The Path to Growth," and in this issue, readers can delve into Dr. Jac's new article, "Talent Management Intelligence: Solving the People Paradox."

And a paradox it is. Continuous problems in human capital management include lack of coordination between departments and individual employees. For example, a customer service representative offers a service that cannot be fulfilled in production, or HR continues to hire new employees to fill orders when sales are down. Talent Management Intelligence offers HR a tool to align various work functions in the organization, measure progress and continuously improve human capital strategies.

Dr. Jac reminds us that close work with top management is part of this equation and that company leaders must regularly articulate the organization's vision. We hear a lot about branding to external clients, but consistent branding to internal customers, our employees, is critical as well.

There are few better examples of a CEO who has set a clear vision than the subject of this month's "CEO Best Practices Interview," Nicole Stata, president and CEO of Deploy Solutions. Her commitment to guiding principles sets a vision that doesn't just consist of platitudes hanging on a banner in the lobby but is foundational to all planning and communication in the company. The reward has been a loyal workforce and customer base, as well as recognition from outside organizations.

Read on to learn how industry leaders are solving the people paradox.

Betty Hintch, Editor