As I’ve consulted with organizations of all types all across the landscape, I’ve always been curious as to why I’m being paid about 50% of the time to intervene in matters that could easily have been handled by internal human resource people. In some cases the external consultant with a diverse frame of reference, and a retirement plan not vested in the client company, is a distinct necessity. But in an equal number of cases, internal expertise, wise in the culture and politics of the organization, and permanently resident for follow-up, is the more desirable course of action.

But what I’ve found is that I’m usually entering a bizarre guerilla war, in which the human resource people are hiding in the tall grass, camouflage smeared on their clothing and bodies so adeptly that management doesn’t know they’re there. And couldn’t care less.

HR folks have been reading the wrong books and listening to the wrong gurus. They seem to believe that organizations are treacherous places, led by demonic managers, and populated with lobotomized employees. It’s the prototypical "us against them," but the "them" is a group of well-intentioned executives, flawed as we all are, trying their best to satisfy the customer, develop and nurture employee talent, reward the shareholders, and thereby prolong and improve their own lot. This is, the last time I looked, a noble calling.

The "us" is a cadre of human resource people who seem to believe they have some higher, esoteric, and divine calling. Their campaigns follow banners that proclaim "authenticity," and their war councils speak of "shared power" and "open meetings" and "future search." Their belief is that only they can save the mindless masses from the satanic reach and draconian measures of the evil executives.

The trouble is that the HR crowd can’t define what "authenticity" is, can’t interpret "empowerment" into pragmatic business results, and have no idea of what "future anything" brings other than freedom from an illusory oppressive yoke. Yet what I see in major organizations are mostly fine men and women attempting to steadily improve. There is some incompetency, but precious little maliciousness. There is some waste, but not much profligacy. There is some lost productivity, but not runaway sloth.

Human resource people have erected a straw horse to kick around in the vision of a mythical, malicious management. And they have created phantasmagorical, irrelevant responses to combat their contrived problem: every nutty program du jour and academic’s short-lived book has been turned into a cause celebre. It’s no wonder that line management doesn’t appreciate the guerillas in their midst. The managers are in a different world, the world of productivity, and performance, and innovation.

I recently shared the platform at a human resources convention with one of the true, heavyweight gurus, one of the darlings of the human resource crowd. Several of us blinked in wonder as he donned his spotless combat gear and informed the crowd that organizations were evil places, and only human resource people, properly armed and camouflaged, could save the day. He talked of "self-authenticity," and had people rearrange tables to "gain more personal power," and stressed that "empowerment" was the key weapon which only the true guerilla could understand.

The tall grass is disappearing. The camouflage is fading. Organizations will continue to grow and improve, using the resources that are found to be most relevant and effective. The guerilla leaders make their fortunes selling their weapons of modern-day patent oils and ointments. If we stop buying them, we’ll put them out of business and send the guerillas back to work, where they might still serve a useful purpose.