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A friend of mine told me years ago that what people want is a concrete solution. As he put it; You need to put it in a box, a bottle or a can.
People need to see it; they can't imagine it.
On the other hand why are Peter Drucker and Ram Charan such highly esteemed consultants? They don't push products. They ask questions and make people think. The solution to every problem is found in the questions they ask.
Products are not solutions. They are enablers of a well thought out strategies.
Just this morning I was talking with a vendor client who was stuck trying to figure out how to position a new HR product for market introduction. We talked at length about the market; current products and the latest buzz. We discussed competition and customers in terms of their needs, interests, fears and goals. Finally, I suggested a positioning strategy that would differentiate their product but not be so new as to scare off the potential customers. This was what they were looking for.
In retrospect what did I give them? Was it something in a box, bottle or can? No, I just helped them gain a clear image of the market and of their goal with the new product.
HR needs to stop throwing expensive software at unsolved problems. All the new thing does is solidify the existing problem. Later HR has to buy version 2, 3 and so on never having solved the underlying problem. The best examples of this "package" approach are found in performance management and training programs.
In a recent interview on Bill Kutik's show (www.billkutikradioshow.com) Naomi Bloom lamented that technology is currently capable to putting HR at the head of the executive table. Yet she said only a very few HR people think clearly and strategically about their problems and the ways that technology can solve them.
Dr Jac
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Dr. Jac Blog 
