By
Laura Kellers Queen

People Economics

People Economics is a tour de force. The use of references and examples from different centuries and the ability to weave Adam Smith, Upton Sinclair, the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire – a well-known industrial era turning point, David Brooks, Milton Friedman and Judy Samuelson is brilliant.

Reading this book, I am reminded of Neutron Jack Welch at GE who was celebrated for the ruthless purging of his employees and the former CEO of Sunbeam, ‘Chainsaw Al’ Dunlap who together popularized the headcount reduction issue as a path to profit and riches. They were celebrated for such human capital destruction and yet ultimately left a shell of a corporation in the wake of their CEO tenure.

Buyouts played a role in the Darwinian environment that resulted from many mergers, as Laura ably shares in her own family’s ordeal. Private equity has evolved, becoming more growth vehicle than leveraged buyout machine where the pressure was to cut costs to pay down the acquisition debt more quickly. Now the focus is increasingly on funding growth initiatives, which in turn requires ample human capital talent.

Investors and acquirers often coveted talent from afar, attempting to purchase it rather than carefully curate and develop their own people capability; mainly because their buyout investment strategy was subject to time consideration for an eventual exit. Private equity, specifically, needed to change its ways as exceptional human capital/talent has always been the rare ingredient for success.

Across the board, businesses must be focused on acquiring and cultivating the best and most diverse talent, while measuring and nurturing this talent to ensure continued value creation. I have always believed that the best business and investment decisions are reached when you have the broadest array of perspectives contemplating the opportunity. This breadth requires viewpoints established from many facets of life experience. Only a diverse and inclusive environment and an appropriate framework for articulating its contributions can provide this winning formula! Glad that we are finally getting closer to this much needed realty in the business world.

Laura shines the light and teaches us all that Doing Good and Doing Well are symbiotic, always.

Robert Nolan
Founding Partner, Halyard Capital
Senior Advisor, Brown Brothers Capital Partners and Mission OG Funds

“The author presents the intellectual landscape of these issues with impressive clarity, discussing complex concepts with a minimum of technical jargon and a maximum of accessibility. Also, she makes a powerful argument for a broader view of value creation simply from the perspective of the “material difference to organizations” it delivers. “

“Laura Queen shatters the barriers between traditional Finance and HR by demonstrating that People Economics is a win-win for both companies and their employees.”

“Excellence! The turnover cost analysis. Practically done and makes 100% sense. Lesson: if we follow the lead measure of engaging and retaining our existing talent, we avoid the lag consequence of turnover cost.”

“There have been many attempts to bring clarity to the term ‘human capital’, but most have been prescriptive and traditional. Laura Queen’s People Economics breaks through with a relevant framework, incorporating the reality that we work with humans and not assets. Her examples provide tangible ways to bring measurement to life when it comes to people. I’d recommend this as an essential reference for any Human Resource or Business professional!!”

"Laura has accomplished an amazing feat by introducing the worlds of economics and human resources to each other, in an accessible and engaging manner, that is constantly interesting without being patronising. It is clearly aimed at members of the C-suite but would also equally be very useful to Masters students from many different disciplines."

Dr. Laura Kellers Queen

Laura Kellers Queen, EdD has emerged as a leading voice in the Human Capital field. She has quite literally changed the language within these arenas to better reflect and quantify the role and impact of the workforce on corporate performance. “People Alpha” – or the excess return available to investors who recognize talent as strategic business assets — has arrived and is creating advantages for those who adopt a more systematic, outcome-oriented approach to human capital management. Her book, People Economics: Defining and Measuring the True Value of Human Capital lights the way for those desiring to overcome a blind spot when it comes to assessing and valuing the role of people in the success of business.

A ‘Jersey-girl’ at heart, Laura lives in Bucks County, PA. Loves include travel, street art, camping (yes, in tents), piles of books, gardening, skiing and bicycling. She and her husband, Tim are avid cooks and wine enthusiasts and cherish time with their adult children and fur babies.