Advice for CEOs

What Human Resources policies and practices will help emerging growth companies get the most productivity and value out of their people? All entrepreneurs would acknowledge the principle that the success of their enterprise depends on the performance of their employees. But many entrepreneurs still find reasons to put human capital issues in the back seat. They may think that the kind of employees they want are motivated simply by the challenge and excitement that comes with building an innovative business model or technology. Or that the chance to get in on the ground floor of what might one day be a big company that pays high salaries is sufficient to energize their work force. They might say that they don’t have the resources to support rigorous processes such as providing feedback on employee performance. They may worry that such performance reviews will create an expectation for raises that the company can’t afford. And some entrepreneurs may--rightly or wrongly--associate formal HR processes with big, bureaucratic organizations--the opposite of what they want their company to be.

Changing a company's culture is a lot like losing 50 pounds. There are lots of books to read, seminars to attend, and processes to follow. Yet, the vast majority of efforts fail.