Happy New Year!

We hope you are enjoying a great start to 2010 and looking forward to fantastic results throughout the year. At CPO, we've positioned 2010 as a break-out year for our HR IS solution. We have a new marketing firm with us and we've started hiring Sales and IT resources to prepare for immediate regional growth.

We wanted to share a couple exciting updates in the company with you:

Chief People Officer is proud to be a contributing sponsor to the Human Capital Institute's National Summit being held here at the Marriott - Starr Pass in late March. This is a collection of some of the most progressive and influential throught-leaders in the National Talent Management community, right here in Tucson. We are excited to have a part in such a fantastic event with global Human Capital leaders from companies like Raytheon, the NIH, Motorola, Microsoft, JC Penney, US Dept of the Interior, Starbucks, GE, Verizon Wireless to name a few. As a Gold sponsor of the event, we wanted to share a special opportunity with you. We are thrilled to pass on to you a 30% savings over the normal attendance fee for the Summit should you find the content compelling and worthy of your time. Take a look at the event at www.hci.org/r/summit_2010 If you have interest in attending, please let me know and I'll help coordinate your discount.

The other exciting news is around Chief People Officer's CEO, Mark Ziska, and his segment contribution to 'BIZ Tucson' Magazine. In case you missed the latest Winter 2010 issue, the article below can be found in hard-copy beginning on page 128. Enjoy!

The Precision of Accountability

By Mark D. Ziska, President, Chief People Officer, LLC

In the first column in this series, you were provided with the three-step approach to generating business results: “STRATEGY –ACCOUNTABILITY – RESULTS”. First step develop, communicate and align all employees to an articulated strategy. This concept was discussed in the first two columns and we saw how familiar businesses put this practice to work.

The second step, ACCOUNTABILITY, ensures that there are measurable individual contributions from each employee assuring achievement of the mission.

Your success results from the execution of your strategy and the accountability of your people. You expect people to deliver the results you need to ensure business success. Your business depends on it. But, to ensure delivery of the results you need, you must form clear expectations. Have you ever watched a NASCAR or Formula 1 race? If you have you’ve seen the key to a victory is the pit crew, the people. Those crewmembers that perform like a well-choreographed ballet to refresh and refuel the race machine in world class precision.

What does this example have to do with the STRATERY-ACCOUNTABILITY-RESULTS model? The pit crew is the perfect example of business execution choreographed precisely. The race team knows the strategy: winning the championship at the season’s end with a clear goal of flawless performance in each race. Team members know WHAT to do, WHY they do it and just WHEN it needs to be done.

How does this precision occur, simple, by everyone knowing and doing his part to make the vision a reality. This sounds like your business; you’ve enrolled everyone on the vision, mission and strategy of your business. But do employees know your expectations of them to achieve the strategy?

There are two approaches to achieve alignment, command and control or enrollment. The first is traditionally, “Here’s what I want you to do and here’s when I want it done.” Enrollment includes these steps and adds the understanding of “WHY”. The championship racing crews understand each of these. Enrollment includes not only the brawn to get it done but adds the WHY engaging the hearts and minds to get it done better.

In a recent Associated Press article, a Chicago man filed a lawsuit against a tattoo parlor for misspelling tomorrow on his forearm. The artist defended the misspelling by saying he spelled the word exactly as the customer spelled it on a piece of paper. He did what the customer wanted, when he wanted it. Imagine your employees doing exactly what you tell them. You miss the opportunity to achieve beyond your expectations!

With enrollment employees understand their responsibilities, they become the solution, trustworthy and reliable. In other words accountable to deliver beyond expectations because they not only know what and when, but also the why and can use their abilities to achieve surprising results.

Finally, who is responsible for setting this example? YOU ARE! When you’re responsible, others follow your lead. You are a leader who enrolls others to achieve beyond expectations. RESULTS will follow.

CPO provides a comprehensive suite of HR services within their Integrated Talent Management System, PeopleAssistant®. With unique customizable features, competency based Performance Management and Strategic Planning that executes results, PeopleAssistant is the right combination of technology and strategy. Located in Tucson, Arizona, CPO is a unique and dynamic HR IS firm with clients in a host of industries including healthcare, high-tech, non-profit and other professional services markets.

Brian Duffield
Chief People Officer
brianduffield@cpohr.com
800.263.1284
www.cpohr.com