Well, if Keith is going to appear on TV and speak on the subject of HR, I sure hope he has done more homework on the subject than he did with his earlier article in Fast Company. While he had a few salient points, much of what he said was anecdotal and typical of someone who doesn't either understand the value of Human Capital (of which he may or may not be one) or the role that Human Resources plays in the application of productive Human Capital Initiatives.

In my opinion, Keith would do well to conduct his research by reading the books, articles, or speeches of Jack Welch, Jim Collins, and Fred Reichheld to find out what their views of the Human Resources role is in the organization, and the results produced both economically and socially. Or, perhaps he could simply read some of the studies conducted at Cornell University or Northwestern University, not to mention other Universities, or maybe review the studies by Mercer, or Wyatt Watson, or McKinsey regarding Human Resources impacts on the organization. It would be far more productive and informative than going to the nearest 'social location or activity' to 'conduct research'!

Actually, I do share some of the concerns Keith expressed, having been a 'business man in Human Resources rather than a Human Resources man in business' over the last thirty years. I've seen, first hand, how some HR 'types' think and can say that they don't understand business very well. But I would also say I'd like to see other organizational functions such as marketing, quality, testing, supply chain, finance, investor relations, engineering, research and development, and others demonstrate in a very clear and statistically validated study what value is added by each of them. Frankly, on a personal experience level, I didn't see a lot of them understanding business principles very well, either.

It seems to me, if one function is being called upon to demonstrate value, then all functions should be called upon to demonstrate value, including the profession that Keith is in. Wouldn't that be the fair and just thing to do?