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Careers in HRThe HR profession

You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone

by Personnel Today 18 Oct 2005
by Personnel Today 18 Oct 2005

Those of you who follow my exciting adventures every week in Personnel Today will know I recently employed a life coach.

His name was Clive. The first and last thing he ever asked me was: “Where do you see yourself in the HR and business paradigm, and where would you like to see yourself?”

I thought about this and then fired him. The reason is that I have cut the HR Gordian Knot.

As I sit here, watching the sun attempt to come up into a sky that refuses to stop looking like dirty dishwater, I realise what I have to do. I am sick to my remaining back teeth with interminable prosing about strategic HR and whether HR deserves a place on the board.

This debate goes on because, despite our best efforts, the belief remains among all the other functions that we should fill their vacancies and then leave them alone.

This leads me to the old adage: “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone”. So I’m resigning. Let them try and see how they get on without me, the self-obsessed buggers

You might call me a hero; you might even call me a martyr. This is something I would encourage. And if you are thinking of stopping me, it’s too late. My resignation letter is in the post and, much like my hangover, will be arriving soon.

Ladies and gentlemen, HR has left the building.

Personnel Today
Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

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