The world economy is coming out from a crisis. Business organisations are gearing up for both the opportunities and challenges of the coming years. What will give them an edge? What can they do differently? What will contribute to helping organisations to achieve superior performance and become excellent in an economy in the upswing? What will make them sustainable? We do not need something fancy and elaborate. We really have to revisit the basis.

The nature of business is to create value of importance and relevance to people, economies and societies. This is possible only with people development for it is central to value creation. Very critically, this is key to strategic HRD. The emphasis is not just HR activity for today but how to sustain business performance for the risks of today and challenges of tomorrow. The effort is not just directed at the transactional but also the strategic. Strategic HRD is encompassing, goes beyond transactional HR, and it contributes to building dynamic and sustainable business organisations.

There is a need to value intangible assets. The shift in value from tangible assets (property, plant and equipment) to intangible assets (brands, intellectual property, people) has been evident for some time in many organisations.

Kaplan and Norton, the architects of the Balance Score card identify the learning and growth perspective as one that “describes the organisation’s intangible assets and their role in strategy”

Strategic HRD will shape and safeguard organisational futures. By focussing on people development, value is creatively and continuously created to suit the needs of business, economy and society.