Predictive Analytics for Human Resources

Chapter 2Getting Started

Unless the distant goals of meaning, greatness and destiny are addressed we cannot make an intelligent decision about what to do tomorrow morning—much less set strategy for a company.

—Peter Koestenbaum

The foundation of every company is composed of three fundamental elements: (1) vision, (2) brand, and (3) culture (VBC). Without clarity and consensus on VBC, there is no basis on which to make strategic plans or decisions, much less apply analytics. If you don’t know your company’s VBC, the obvious analytic question is: Analyze for what purpose?

Peter Koestenbaum, philosopher, educator, and executive coach, went further in talking about the essentials of an organization. VBC are operational examples of Koestenbaum’s distant goals. Some companies simply go from problem to problem without being clear about their vision, brand, or culture. Those firms gain minimal market share and suffer from mediocre earnings. They are what Tom Peters once called “the living dead.”¹ In time they will be bought or driven out.

If you are thinking of analyzing and improving any human capital issue, you would be well served to have clarity on your company’s VBC. If you cannot readily see the impact of VBC on a company, consider the example of four well-known retailers and how they are different: Neiman Marcus, Macy’s, Walmart and Costco.

GO-TO-MARKET MODELS

If you study the market position of these four retailers along five basic strategies, you can see the differences. ...