The Challenge of Human Capital

Just under a century ago, top business leaders in North America formed an organization called the Conference Board.

Its purpose was to get at the truth about what makes business work, and it’s still going strong. A scientific enterprise, it’s a quiet place that collects data and dispassionately crunches it in an effort to find out what’s really going on with the economy.

For many years, the Conference Board has surveyed prominent business leaders across the globe to identify their most critical challenge. Its most recent answer might surprise you: Human Capital. What does that mean? Human capital? Don’t they mean financial capital? Why are they worried about human capital? Why is that a top-of-mind issue?

In Today’s world, with all its attendant challenges, moving pieces, and barrage of information, the key factor between the organizations that will sustain success and those that don’t will be the ability to engage one’s people to bring their very best. It is the ultimate competitive advantage.

From our experience, gained from the thousands of organizations that have engaged us to help them achieve results where behavioral change is required, we have found that leaders across the globe agree that engaging their talent is their top priority now. They know about the dramatic difference between a company with engaged employees and one with disengaged ones—and how that difference matters more than anything. The ultimate competitive advantage belongs to organizations that can get the best contribution possible from the best people they can find. In simple terms, it means inspiring and motivating people to bring the best they can give.