Preface and Acknowledgments

This book describes our vision of a future where the issues of talent and how it is organized get the attention they deserve, the kind of deep and logical attention worthy of a resource that’s vital to strategic success. In 1995 we began working together on the ideas that eventually produced this book. It was a unique collaboration between a professor with fifteen years of scholarship and consulting on HR, human capital measurement, staffing, and strategy and a consultant with significant expertise and experience in accounting, finance, and strategy and a strong interest in research. The colleagues who introduced us said that we were pursuing a similar vision—greater clarity connecting talent to strategy—but from different ends of the discipline. Boudreau had begun studying the HR profession, working outward through measurement, finance, and strategy. Ramstad had started in strategy and finance, working inward to the role of people in driving financial and economic outcomes. It turned out to be a good match and has produced more than a decade of collaborative research, writing, and consulting.

In this book we’ve attempted to capture the insights that emerged as we were fortunate enough to work with HR and line leaders in the world’s top organizations. Our hope is that this book will be read both by leaders within HR and their counterparts outside HR. Our work repeatedly shows that revolutionary opportunities for competitive advantage emerge when these two groups work together with a common logic and approach to talent. We are pleased to see the ideas we have developed appearing in the work of academics, companies, organizations, and consulting firms. When we first suggested the concept of a decision science for human capital about five years ago, we were often met with quizzical reactions. The idea is now well established, and the challenge is to make it come alive.

We hope this book helps organizations meet that challenge.

Acknowledgments

We are indebted to our students and colleagues at the University of Southern California, Personnel Decisions International, and Cornell University, and to the HR and business leaders in the many companies and organizations we have had the great privilege to advise, teach, and collaborate with. While it is not possible to mention them all here, their generosity of ideas and enthusiasm for the notion of a talent decision science gave us confidence in the early years and provided a valuable touchstone as the frameworks, tools, and teaching and consulting techniques developed. We received particularly valuable assistance on the book itself from Gale Adcock, John Bronson, Wayne Cascio, Jeff Chambers, Peter Dowling, Kelly Frank, Lisa Haines, Alan May, Steve Milovich, Toyin Ogun, Dave Pace, and Brian Smith. The field experience gained from working with consulting colleagues such as Terry Gray, Joy Hazucha, Jennise Henry, Shawn Lancaster, Dave McMonagle, and Donna Neumann has provided insight we never could have obtained without their hands-on applications. Melinda Merino and Brian Surette at Harvard Business School Publishing provided valuable editorial support, and Lauren Byrne’s production editing was also significant. Finally, we are grateful to the PDI publications team that worked so hard on this project—including Lora Alexander, Susan Gebelein, Katie Mulinix, Kristie Nelson-Neuhaus, and Linda Van-Denboom—who each made important contributions to refining the manuscript and managing the project.