The Essentials of Strategy

A book review.

The Essentials of Strategy

Business Literacy for HR Professionals

by Harvard Business Review

published: 2006.11.01

ISBN: 9781591398226

genre: Business (Management)

reviewed:2014.04.14

It's long been my belief that you can't get anything done while ignoring HR. Finances can be "managed", but people require great care. Nothing makes this clear like the horror of working somewhere that has someone broken running a human resources department.

This short book deals with strategy from a human resources perspective. There is clear and practical advice on how to understand, plan, and deliver on strategy through normal HR activities and policies. The aims are to produce effective teams, retain top talent, manage compensation, provide training, etc. It's very spare, and has no case studies, but aims to make strategy something that everyone can understand.

I referenced one passage, on developing action plans, in my master's dissertation.