Key Points

• Strategy and people are part of a larger system. It is impossible to change one without considering the other.

• It is quicker and easier to create a new strategy than to reformulate the skills and behaviors of the existing workforce.

• Every strategy requires an optimal balance of firm-specific and general skills. A company should consider this as it thinks about its current or potential strategies.

• It is important to challenge both strategy and human capital practices when the competitive environment shifts: Tried and true legacy practices may not fit the new reality.