T
he vision leaders have for the talent-development effort is an important starting point for the strategic development of talent (SDT). The outcome of a visioning process is a purpose statement that puts the organization on record about the reasons for the talent- development effort, the goals and objectives for that effort, and the ways in which the effort aligns with the organization’s competitive goals and strategic objectives.Just as strategists should first identify in what business they are operating before they formulate a strategy to succeed in that busi- ness, so too must key stakeholders of the talent-development effort decide why they are undertaking the effort. A purpose (mission) statement is as important for the strategic development of talent as it is for strategic business planning. It provides the rationale for why the organization is developing talent, justifies why the organization’s leaders support it, and clarifies what results the organization’s leaders hope to gain from it.
What Is Vision?
A vision is a mental picture of an ideal situation or condition.
“Visioning,” writes Nickolson (2002, 52), “is about visualizing a desired future state and then working backward to develop an action
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CHAPTER 2
plan to get to that desired state.” In some cases, the term visioningis used to refer to the process of establishing a mission or purpose statement. In other cases, it is viewed as a preliminary step. Visioning meetings are fairly common. Nickolson creaks a case study that describes one vision meeting and the process used to guide it.
The value of visioning should be apparent: Whether one is doing strategic planning for an organization or is trying to establish an organizational strategy for talent development, every decision-maker must reach some common understand- ing about what they are doing, why they are doing it, what benefits they hope to achieve from it, and how they will establish the purpose, goals, objectives, and strategy to guide the effort. The process of doing this can thus be critical (Flores and Fadden 2000).
Vision is sometimes seen as a critical element in strategy (Brown 1998),even if it is regarded somehow as separate from it. For instance, Hilton (1999, 29) cites a study that revealed that no less than 40 percent of a company’s reputation is attrib- utable to the CEO’s reputation. More to the point, the most important quality of a CEO is his or her ability to “communicate a clear vision of the company’s strategy.”
Many writers today agree that visioning is often the key to a successful strate- gic planning effort. As Kim and Mauborgne (2002, 76) note: “Few companies have a clear strategic vision. The problem stems from the strategic-planning process itself, which usually involves preparing a large document, culled from a mishmash of data provided by people with conflicting agendas. Instead, compa- nies should design the strategic-planning process by drawing a picture: a strategy canvas. The process is four steps: 1. visual awakening; 2. visual exploration;
3. visual strategy; and 4. visual communication.”
Many resources are available to support an organization’s visioning efforts.
(See Exhibit 2–1.)
What Is “Purpose”?
Purpose refers to the fundamental reason for an organization’s existence. It is often synonymous with intention or mission (Krattenmaker 2002). While the value of specifying intentions has sparked substantial debate among those
EExxhhiibbiitt 22–11:: Web Resources for Visioning*
Link Description of the Web-site
1. http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/ Emphasizes the benefits of visioning cav.html
2. http://www.improve.org/ Provides a 10-step model of strategic planning stratpln.html
3. http://allianceonline.org/faqs/ Describes how to introduce the visioning process spfaq7.html
4. http://prosci.com/visions.htm Tutors users in visioning
5. http://mapnp.org/library/plan_dec/ Supplies links and resources for nonprofit organizations–which gen_plan/gen_plan.htm can, of course, apply to other organizations as well–about the
visioning process
*These links are based on a much more extensive list provided in Nickolson, D. (2002). Envisioning an enriched future. Association Management, 54(5), 52–57.
who facilitate learning, it is advantageous because it (1) helps guide design and development efforts; (2) helps learners understand what they are supposed to learn; (3) provides means to evaluate the relative success of subsequent instruc- tional efforts; and (4) provides information worth communicating to employees and operating managers about what instruction is intended to do. A sense of pur- pose, whether for an organization or instruction, instills confidence. It gives peo- ple the feeling that they know “where they are going” and helps them understand
“why they are doing what they are doing.” And the process of developing a purpose or mission statement can build esprit de corps among work group members (Ishoy and Swan 1992).
Perhaps the best description of a formal purpose statement for an organiza- tion is this classic and succinct passage from Morrisey’s 1976 work:
For the total organization, the statement [of purpose] should include the broad identification of the type of operation for which it is responsible, its major areas of service, clientele or user groups, organizational approach, plus the philosophical basis for its operation (p. 25).
A purpose statement thus answers such questions as: (1) What is our business?
(2) What should it be? (3) What are the major parts of the business? (4) What
should they be? (5) Who are the customers? (6) Who should the organization be serving? (7) How is the business presently meeting needs of each customer group? (8) How should it be meeting those needs? (9) What do managers believe about the business, customers, and methods of operation? and (10) What should they believe?
In recent times, however, corporate executives use purpose statements to explain why the organization exists, but also to stress its noble purpose. But take care in doing that, note Kleiner, Roth, and Kruschwitz (2001, 18):
We live in a post-mission-statement era. These days, the most admired com- panies are trying not only to develop effective strategies for profit, but to make themselves into examples of greatness. They want their companies to be like Mary Kay Inc., with its stated intention “to enrich women’s lives”; or like Merck and Co. Inc., whose “business is preserving and improving human life”; or like British Petroleum, which recently announced a brand-name change to “Beyond Petroleum,” signaling a leadership role in moving civiliza- tion out of the fossil-fuel era.
A similar concern has been expressed about grand vision statements that can distract strategists from the real purpose of their organizations (Langeler 1992).
Strategic Business Planning theorists prefer to direct their primary attention to customers or clients during the process of formulating purpose. In a classic description, Rothschild suggests pondering these questions:
❙ Who are you as an organization?
❙ Who are your customers?
❙ How can they be classified?
❙ Which classification is most important to you and your competitors?
❙ Will this classification still be most important in the future? Why?
❙ Why do customers buy when and as much as they do?
❙ What are their objectives?
❙ Which objectives are most important?
❙ Are the reasons for purchasing and their ranking in importance likely to change?
❙ What if . . . ?
❙ What could cause a change in customers’ objectives?
❙ What information will help anticipate these changes?
❙ So what?
❙ What are the implications of change in customer behavior and objectives?
❙ Will the impact be positive or negative on you, relative to the impact on your competition?
❙ What then?
❙ How will this customer classification add to your understanding of the total market, size, mix, growth rate, and time? (Rothchild 1976, 29–30;
reprinted with permission)
Customer analysis of this kind suggests valuable clues about the purpose of the organization–and profitable strategies for the future.
It does not require much imagination to see that these questions are applica- ble to developing talent. Indeed, a good starting point for long-term planning for talent development in any organization is to pose the same kind of questions that Rothschild (1976) suggests in his classic work. Consider:
❙ What purposes does talent development seek to attain inside the organi- zation? Outside it?
❙ What part of this purpose is the responsibility of the talent development effort? Operating managers? Learners?
❙ What is known about the learners? How can they be classified? How can this classification scheme be used in planning instruction and other devel- opmental efforts?
❙ How are talent development activities presently benefiting the organiza- tion? How should they benefit the organization?
❙ How are talent development activities presently meeting learner needs?
How should they meet learner needs in the future?
❙ What is the organization’s present philosophy about talent development?
What should that philosophy be in the future?
By posing these questions, WLP practitioners can stimulate a meaningful dia- logue about the talent development effort in their organizations. This informa- tion, in turn, helps to set priorities.
How important is purpose?
Without a sense of purpose, WLP practitioners might successfully complete many projects or activities, but might never know how they are contributing to the organization or to improvements in job performance. Nor will they be able to demonstrate their value in convincing ways if asked to do so. If WLP practition- ers or line managers lack purpose for the talent-development effort, they will not be able to establish a strategy for realizing that purpose.
What are possible relationships between strategic business plans, HR plans, and talent development?
There are many-possible relationships between strategic business plans, HR plans, and talent-development efforts. These can be summarized as follows:
1. Talent development can be driven by organizational and HR plans. This is thetop-down approach.
2. Talent development can be driven by perceived future learning needs of managers and employees. This is the market-driven approach.
3. Talent development can be driven by comparisons between individual career plans/objectives and organizational plans/objectives. This is the career planning approach.
4. Talent development serves as a tool for helping top management strate- gists formulate business and HR plans. This is the futuring approach.
5. Talent development furnishes learners with artificial experience tied to organizational and HR plans. This is the artificial experience approach.
6. Talent development provides feedback about implementation of plans for use by top managers in subsequent planning. This is the pulse-taking approach.
7. Talent development provides information to strategists about organiza- tional strengths and weaknesses.This is the performance diagnosis approach.
8. Talent development teaches people how to think strategically. This is the educational approach.
9. Talent development serves the unarticulated needs and interests of strate- gists. This is the interpersonal approach.
10. Talent development focuses on specific issues, problems, or projects of major strategic significance to the organization. This is the rifle approach.
Exhibit 2–2 summarizes all ten approaches. Note that they are not mutually exclu- sive. In fact, they may overlap conceptually. Each approach is worth describing in more detail because they describe how Strategic Business Plans and talent devel- opment efforts may be aligned. Remember: each approach also implies a purpose for a talent development effort.
EExxhhiibbiitt 22–22:: A Summary of Relationships Between Strategic Business Plans, HR Plans, and Talent Development
Approach Brief Description
1. Top-Down The talent development effort is used to support implementation of organizational and HR plans, and is driven by those plans.
2. Market-driven The talent development effort is used to identify future learning needs, and to convince people to meet those needs.
3. Career Planning The talent development effort is a tool for helping individuals realize their own career plans.
4. Futuring The talent development effort is used to provide assistance to top management strategists in formulating strategic plans.
5. Artificial Experience The talent development effort is used to simulate future condi- tions, helping individuals identify their own learning needs.
6. Pulse-Taking In the course of talent development efforts, WLP practitioners and others collect information about how well the organization’s strategic plans are being implemented, and later feed it back to the strategists.
7. Performance Diagnosis In the course of assessing talent development needs, WLP prac- titioners and others identify problems of larger scope, and pro- vide that information to strategists for their use in strategic business planning.
8. Educational WLP practitioners and others work to teach people how to think strategically.
9. Interpersonal WLP practitioners and others interact with the strategists, iden- tifying their beliefs and communicating those beliefs to others.
10. Rifle WLP practitioners and others concentrate their attention on
issues, problems, or projects of strategic importance.
The Top-Down Approach. Perhaps the most common way to think of aligning strategic business plans, HR plans, and talent development efforts is from this perspective. Top managers envision the organization as it exists in the future and as it is positioned relative to the external environment. This vision is embodied in a formal strategic plan (a product); however, planning is synonymous with a process.
To transform a vision to reality, human knowledge and skills are necessary. In- deed, any plan implies that knowledge and skills will be needed for proper implementation. As a matter of fact, today’s organizations are in a “knowledge race” in which a key to competitive success is matching how quickly an organiza- tion can support reduced cycle time through speed to market (Krell 2001). Of course, plans also require adequate resources, money, and time. But without human qualities to mobilize and apply resources, no plan can ever be implemented.
Theorists have long argued that to implement a strategic business plan suc- cessfully, top managers should devote attention to matching appropriate leaders to the strategy. Each part of the organization should be led by someone who wants the strategy to succeed and who also possesses the skills necessary for success.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to find the right person for the right leadership job at the right time if nobody worries about the issue until the need arises. This prob- lem is a major one confronting all corporations.
Top managers consistently cite a need for better long-term planning for man- agement talent. By virtue of position, top managers are acutely aware of how important leadership can be in implementing a business plan. Generally, top man- agers direct less attention to comprehensive HR planning than to leadership plan- ning. The aim of comprehensive HRP is to match available numbers and skills of employees in different job categories to requirements implicit in strategic business plans. Unfortunately, forecasting future skill requirements has been a traditional weakness of HR planning. The reason is that the common practice is to compare numbers of people needed to fill job categories to numbers of people available. In addition, top managers do not establish overall direction for all HR programs to match them to corporate strategy. Alignment of organizational strategy and talent fails because nobody thinks about it (Weiss 2002).
In the top-down approach, a comprehensive HR plan is necessary before strat- egy can be formulated to guide the talent development effort, because the compe- tencies essential to implement strategic business plans are available from more than one source. It is thus necessary to consider alternative ways of obtaining them. If managers need an individual who possesses unique skills, they can:
(1) recruit from outside the organization; (2) transfer somebody possessing the skills from a different part of the firm on a temporary or permanent basis; (3) con- tract for talent externally on a short-term or long-term basis; (4) use innovative techniques such as worksharing to get more than one person’s talents mobilized to deal with the job’s tasks; (5) simplify or change job duties; or (6) train, educate, or develop individuals within the firm. Talent development activities are appropriate only for the last of these choices. For this reason, other methods of sourcing neces- sary skills have to be considered before talent development plans are formulated. A comprehensive HR planning process affords a means to make these choices.
To use a top-down approach, WLP practitioners have to link up talent devel- opment plans to plans of the HR department and the organization.
Organizational and HR plans must be decided on first before talent development plans are formulated. The talent development effort is forced into a role in which it can only support these plans. It is driven by them, and thus has little impact on how they are formulated. (See Exhibit 2–3 for a depiction of the top-down approach.)
The Market-Driven Approach. A second way to think of aligning strategic business plans, HR plans, and talent development efforts is from a market- oriented perspective. WLP practitioners must build their efforts based on the per- ceived needs of their stakeholders. In short, they must sell what they do and why they do it. A major problem with the market-driven approach results from the ten- dency of managers and employees alike to identify learning or development needs on the basis of past problems.
Much effort must be exerted to get people to think about long-term needs that anticipate future requirements. WLP practitioners contribute to a past-oriented bias by using learning-needs assessment techniques that rely on present, rather than future, determinations about the talent needed for organizational success.
EExxhhiibbiitt 22–33:: A Simplified Model of Steps in the Top-Down Approach
Think of this problem from another perspective: Suppose Company X creates a new product with which consumers are not familiar. At one time, most products were in this category. Consumers experience a need that the new product can satisfy, but are unaware of the need, the product, or both. Products of this kind are referred to as “unsought goods.”
To promote these goods, marketing specialists suggest starting with informa- tional advertising. Consumers have to be informed about the product and be con- vinced of their need for it before they will buy. This step is the beginning of a product-development life cycle. The introduction of a new product begins the cycle. As consumers learn about the product and the needs it satisfies, they pur- chase it. The product thus gains popularity. More firms begin manufacturing the same product or a substitute. As competition grows stiffer, firms enjoying mar- ketplace advantage due to size, name recognition, or other strengths drive out firms not enjoying such advantages. Eventually, the number of competing firms stabilizes. The product-development life cycle is essentially a learning curve. A visionary entrepreneur begins the cycle by introducing a new product or service.
Consumers and competitors learn about the product. Eventually, market factors reduce how many firms are making the product.
Consider talent development from this perspective. Acting like entrepre- neurs, WLP practitioners can take the lead to identify learning needs before others are aware that they exist. The Strategic Business Plan is a good source for identifying these needs, because it clarifies the firm’s direction. WLP practition- ers promote instruction designed to meet these unsought needs, showing learners and their superiors what the instruction is and why it will be useful to them in the future.
To use the market-oriented approach, WLP practitioners: (1) classify employ- ees into distinct groups, perhaps by job category; (2) predict what competencies employees will probably need in the future to perform in ways consistent with business strategy; (3) assess what competencies are available in each employee group at present; (4) decide how to close gaps between present and future com- petency requirements; (5) plan training, education, and development to close gaps over time in each group of employees; and, (6) mount a promotional campaign to inform managers and employees about strategic business plans and HR plans, implications of those plans for them, and the value of talent development programs in preparing for the future.
The Career Planning Approach. A third way to think of aligning strategic business plans, HR plans, and talent development efforts is from the individual’s career perspective.