But, I HATE Numbers

But, I HATE Numbers !

You probably didn ‚ t go into organization development, people development, or any other ‚“development ‚½ for the numbers. You got into your profession because you love people. Even if you don ‚ t hate numbers, practitioners in WLP have not focused nearly as much attention on financial numbers as line managers do in other parts of a business. If you don ‚ t know why you would want to focus on finances and numbers, then consider the following studies.

Twin Cities Study

In 2001, members of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota) Human Resource Association, ASTD, and the Organization Development Network came together to identify what kept human asset professionals away from the leadership table (Kindley, 2001).

The group invited business leaders to a workshop to clarify their expectations and how human asset professionals could meet their expectations. The workshop participants listed several knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for a human asset professional to gain access to and respect in executive circles (table 1-1).

Table 1-1. Knowledge, skills, and abilities required of executives (Kindley, 2001).

Knowledge About:	Skills to:	Ability to Think Like a:
Competitive environment (sales, cost, profit)	Write a business plan	General manager
Executive team and their roles	Write and present a business case	Sales manager (internal and external)
‚	Manage a budget Read financial statements	Marketer
‚	Ask higher-level questions Sell Think strategically rather than tactically	Independent contractor or free agent
Reprinted with permission from Randall Kindley and HR.com.

Notice that planning, developing, or running any type of WLP program is not even mentioned in this list. WLP proficiency was simply taken for granted by these executives. Clearly, in order to gain creditability and respect, these executives are expecting an expanded and financially oriented perspective from practitioners in the human asset professions .

Sales Skills Return-on-Investment Study

In 2002, a major technology firm commissioned a return-on-investment (ROI) study to determine the effectiveness of a financial selling skills course (Seagraves, 2003). The course taught salespeople to read financial statements to understand the issues that an organization was facing and then to show the value of their solutions to the executives within that organization. In other words, just as was shown in the Twin Cities study, this class taught salespeople to read financial statements and to think strategically, rather than tactically.

One of the most significant findings of the study was that when salespeople used the concepts and techniques taught in this class in a deal, those salespeople reported that they were more than 30 percent more likely to win those deals than they were before they took the class.

During debriefing interviews, several salespeople in the study insisted that their use of a financial value approach was the only reason they had won some of their deals during the tough economic conditions of 2002. These salespeople stated that they had gained more respect and trust from executives because those executives believed the salespeople understood their business and could effectively communicate the value of the solution they were offering. The salespeople had earned a seat at the table as trusted advisors to their clients .

Important ‚  

Notice that the executives in the Twin Cities study expected human asset professionals to have the ability to read financial statements, to present a business case, and to sell. In the Sales Skills ROI Study, being able to communicate value in financial terms was a critical skill set to master in order to gain respect and a competitive edge.

Job Search Success Stories

If the requirements of the Twin Cities executives and the success of salespeo ple using financial based strategies don ‚ t appeal to you, then consider the success of WLP job seekers using these techniques.

Important ‚  

Job seekers who discuss the value of their skills in terms of the financial benefits those skills could bring to their potential employers report getting further in highly competitive interviews and having shorter job search cycles.

In a very successful case, during the tough job market of late 2002, the president of one of the chapters of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) cold-called a company and landed a job just a day after hearing a presentation on the concepts in this book. She credits her success to what she learned from the presentation. Apparently, her hiring manager agreed with the executives from the Twin Cities: Speaking the language of finance makes a dramatic difference in communicating value.

If Not for Yourself, Then for Those You Serve

There is another important reason for understanding and communicating value in terms of financial numbers. As noted in the preface, telling a story of results and performance to the people who generated those results is just as important as telling that story to the executives who manage them.