“We have bigger things to do right now than focus on value.”
This is what I have been hearing in many of the conversations I’ve been having with private equity owners and operators in the last while. We live in strange times indeed when value (traditionally expressed as market cap), an all-encompassing indicator of success, takes a back seat.
Like most CHROs, I have spent all of my career operating within the universe of talent management. The established, widely accepted practices and processes of talent management, many of which are highly consensual, have stood me in good stead. In fact, I and my C-suite partners have only ever had one serious concern when we look at our well-equipped HR departments: how we manage talent isn’t always linked tightly with what is relevant to the company’s performance.
It is up to you as CEO to calm the chaos and focus your organization’s people and resources on values-based value creation.
Considering the number and scope of the decisions you have to make these days, it’s probably not even humanly possible to look at everything being brought to you. The reality is that the important, urgent issues being thrown at you are not going to stop. The emotions being stirred up are not going to subside quickly. Spreading yourself thin to cover everything won’t get you or your company far in this day and age. What you need is leverage.
We place a lot of value on CEO talent. So much so that they are becoming more expensive every year. Take into consideration the rapidly changing business environment and you'll find few of us can afford to hire the wrong CEO.
Making a company more valuable is a matter of knowing how to mobilize people to create and capture value—and how to keep them moving with a sense of urgency and at a pace that sets your company apart and leaves competitors in the dust. But with so many complex, inter-related things to consider both inside and outside your organization, what do you need to focus on to really make that happen?
