"transmogrify...to transform in a 
surprising or magical manner."

by Author

HR's Golden Opportunity

Traditional HR is like your appendix.  It's been around forever but nobody can remember why.

Poor HR!  It's been bashed for years.  HBR even tried to blow it up in 2015.

But no-one lit the fuse.

Today however I would like to offer HR a brave new world of relevance, energy and opportunity.

Here is my thesis.

Organisations do not exist in the real world.  They live happily in our imaginations.  Along with all our cosy concepts of culture, purpose, visions, strategies, goals, values and the greatest of all illusions, leadership.

Proof of concept.  Organisations exist in our minds as systems, but they are systems without physical boundaries.  Their boundaries remain in an imaginary world.

Lawyers understand the challenge.  They describe organisations legally as a 'persona', having similar rights and responsibilities as a human.  Of course this is nonsense but it's the best half-baked solution they could come up with.  

But this confirms my thesis.  The organisation is largely invisible and imaginary.

ORGANISATIONS.  COMPLEX HYBRIDS 

Of course organisations exist. I accept that.  But not in the way we have always assumed.

An organisation is a genuine hybrid. (Not to be confused with post covid organisational chatter and confusion.)

It combines the imaginary world of ideas and concepts with real world actions delivering products and services.

Effectively an organisation is a type of magician.  It makes the invisible, visible.

And herein lies the real challenge for a transmogrified HR.  Forget the silly names you have invented.  Forget the artery clogging projects that keep you busy every day.  Forget being the dirty tricks department.

Here is a once in a lifetime golden opportunity.

To become the system architects and engineers.  Using scientific methods and the laws of physics.

The current perfect storm for
organisations - The Deadly Seven

Let's face it.  Current management theory is outdated and impotent.  And HR is clearly out of its depth.

Here's why.

There is a perfect storm brewing, which we ignore at our peril.  And if HR does not take up this challenge it will become the architect of its own demise.

1. The lifespan of organisations is declining rapidly.
2. 90% of so-called transformations are failing.
3. The 400 billion dollar annual leadership training investment has failed hopelessly.  It's not working.
4. 85% of employees see their boss as the biggest problem at work.
5. Over 90% of senior leaders are scientifically and environmentally illiterate.
6. The Great Resignation.  The perfect storm already unleashed.
7. The global environmental crisis.

Taken together these seven items represent the perfect storm for all organisations.  And the perfect opportunity for HR to prove its mettle.

A New Scientific View of the Organisation 

Before we define a new role for HR, let's take a fresh look at defining an organisation.

An organisation is a complex, dynamic and hybrid system living in both the imaginary and real worlds.

Every organisation evolves its own intelligence level.  This is determined by its capability to think and act intelligently.  

The more intelligent organisations are more creative and profitable.  They know how to convert evolutionary theory into practice.

This system intelligence level is driven by system energy.  It can be defined, measured and new levels can be generated.

The primary driver of all system energy and intelligence is leadership.

This is the new role of the future leader.  A system architect and engineer who has the system knowledge and skill to increase and sustain new levels of system intelligence.  

(Musk, Jobs, Gates and Bezos fully understand this.  The vast majority of CEO's and politicians, do not.)

HR's Transmogrification Opportunity

Here then is the transmogrification challenge for HR.

Close your old creaking doors.  Immediately.

Open your brand new System's Lab.  Your goal is simple.

To drive new levels of system performance through defining system energy, measuring system energy, and generating new system energy.

You will become a system scientist, utilising the laws of physics and evolution to create organisations that are more successful on the new landscape.

This is the greatest game changing challenge facing organisations today.

All that is needed is a fine combination of intelligence and courage.

The greatest threat is simply to do nothing.