ABSTRACT
By now it should have become clear that real HR strategy is a tall order. Whatever you may have come across under the guise of HR strategy in the past would probably not match the specification being drawn up here. Therefore I think it is very important to view true HR strategy as being a very new subject. By the same token it must be a very underdeveloped discipline. Very few people can agree on exactly what it is (although by this stage in the book readers should at least start to get a clear idea of one workable version) and, as a consequence, much of HR practice happens by default. Where it is planned it tends to follow the business rather than lead it. Unfortunately, though, the words ‘by default’ and ‘following’ do not sit at all well with the concept of strategic thinking.
