What If We've Been Thinking About Business All Wrong?
People = Talent
What if I told you the most important business strategy isn't AI, automation, digital transformation, or market expansion?
It's how you treat your people.
Some of you are probably thinking, "Here comes another HR guy telling us to be nicer to employees."
Actually...no.
This isn't an HR article. It's a business article.
After more than two decades in executive search, talent acquisition, HR leadership, career advisory, and thousands of conversations with executives, hiring managers, and professionals, I've become convinced more than ever that we've made one fundamental mistake:
We've separated business strategy from people strategy. I don't think they're separate. I think they're the same conversation.
People = Talent
For years I've had a simple philosophy that guides almost everything I do: People = Talent. Three words. Simple enough to fit on a Post-it Note. Powerful enough to change how leaders think about their organizations.
Somewhere along the way, "talent" became something exclusive. We think of executives, high performers, software engineers, or the people with offices on the top floor.
I don't.
Talent is also the receptionist creating the first impression, the payroll administrator making sure everyone gets paid, the warehouse employee getting orders out the door, the customer service representative saving an important client, and the administrative assistant who somehow knows where everything is before anyone else.
Take enough of those people away, and you'll discover very quickly who the real talent is.
Businesses don't create value. People do. Every single time.
We Say It...But Do We Believe It?
One phrase has always bothered me. "People are our greatest asset."
Every company says it. It's on websites. It's in annual reports. It's on recruiting pages.
Great. Now show me.
Show me your manager development program, how you onboard new employees, how you develop people after they're hired, and how you treat them when they leave. That's where culture lives—not on the wall, not in the employee handbook, and not in the annual report.
Here's another leadership test.
If your employees rated your company based solely on how they're treated every day—not your products, benefits, or mission statement—what score would you earn?
That's probably a more accurate measure of your culture than anything hanging in the lobby.
And while we're at it...
A monthly birthday cake doesn't create a positive culture. Neither does Pizza Friday, a foosball table nobody uses, or branded hoodies. I like cake. I like pizza. And trust me, I love a good premium hoodie. But just don't confuse swag and perks with leadership
Culture isn't created by birthday cakes. Culture is what happens on Tuesday afternoon when someone makes a mistake.
That's when leadership shows up.
One Conversation I'll Never Forget
Years ago I worked in a sales organization with incredibly high turnover. One day I asked, "Why don't we let people go on Monday instead of Friday?" My thinking was straightforward. Losing your job is difficult enough. Why send someone home Friday afternoon to spend the entire weekend worrying about paying the mortgage, telling their family, or wondering what comes next?
The answer? "That's stupid. We want to start fresh on Monday."
I'll never forget that. The company wanted a fresh week. I was thinking about the person.
Sometimes difficult business decisions have to be made. I've been in business long enough to understand that. But how we make those decisions says everything about who we are as leaders.
Why Severance (the Apple+ Series) Resonates
One of the reasons Severance has struck such a nerve is because it exaggerates something many employees already fear: being treated as a badge number, a headcount, a cost center, or simply a resource instead of a person. Thankfully, it's fiction. But maybe it makes us uncomfortable because we've all seen organizations drift a little too far in that direction.
The Captain Still Needs a Crew
One of my earliest posts on LinkedIn about leadership comparing Captain Kirk and Captain Picard, highlighting two very different leadership styles. Now, with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, I think I need to revisit it and include Captain Pike. Pike embodies many of the qualities today's workplace values most—empathy, transparency, humility, and developing others. (Season 4, ST: SNW is out now on Paramount+)
Different captains. Different styles. One common lesson. None of them accomplished anything without their crew.
Leadership isn't about standing on the bridge giving orders. It's about creating an environment where your people can accomplish extraordinary things.
The Recruiter's Test
Every search starts with a simple question: Who is the ideal candidate for this position at this company? But as it evolves, the question changes to who is this placement really serving?
Is this candidate genuinely right for the company? Is this opportunity genuinely right for the candidate? Or am I simply filling a position because of the fee attached to it?
If the main result in a search is someone's bank account, we've missed the point. A successful placement is a win-win for everyone involved. The company gets the strongest candidate with the right skill set for that position. But it also must be the right fit for the candidate at the right time; then the candidate also succeeds. That’s the job of a recruiter: ensure a placement is a win all around.
That's not just good ethics. It's good business.
My Challenge
The next time you're making an important business decision, before you ask how it affects the budget, quarterly earnings, or productivity, ask one more question:
How will this affect our people?
Because if your people truly are your talent, that isn't a different question. It is the business question.
People = Talent.