| Abstract: | Leading in HR means building organizations that consistently and predictably outperform their competitors. In order to understand how HR can best contribute to enhancing firm performance, more than 60,000 pages of information from 200 firms in multiple industries over ten years were analyzed. These firms varied in size, and we complemented these broad extensive analyses with focused, in‐depth exploration of issues of special interest. Only four foundation practices (focused strategy, execution, performance culture, and fast and flat organization) and four secondary practices (securing talent, committed leadership, industry‐transforming innovation, and growth through mergers and partnerships) were found to be necessary to produce extraordinary returns to shareholders. Specifically, success required performing well in all four foundation areas, plus at least two of the secondary areas—we call this the 4 + 2 formula for sustained business success. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
