Corporate emergency-recovery plans have changed significantly over the last 10 to 15 years. Numerous firms now depend on teams to take proactive measures. "What we typically see, as well as individual team action plans, is an overall site plan, for example, for the company's manufacturing site or distribution center--an overarching plan showing how it all comes together so that activities can be coordinated," explains Deloitte's Rick Cudworth.

Speaking with employees and making certain they are safe is crucial after an emergency so that protocols can be enacted correctly. This frequently requires contingency planning. Marsh's Martin Caddick says that companies need to focus on what is really important when an emergency happens and on ways to recover that. He stresses that good crisis-management instruction is crucial. Businesses must back up their data on a regular basis. Some firms back up information and then have a live feed transmit it to back-up facilities so it is twice-protected. It is also important that businesses study their supply chains and determine how a problem at their suppliers could impact their leading operators.

The Pepsi Bottling Group, one of the 200 largest corporations in the U.S., has enjoyed a great deal of success in keeping its top executives. The company's top nine executives have an average tenure of 18.4 years, while the next 17 have an average tenure of 21.7 years. Among the company's 1,800 field executives, the average tenure is 14 years. According to Pepsi Bottling CEO Eric Foss, who himself has worked for the company for 25 years, keeping executives starts with a strong set of hiring standards. Foss noted during the hiring process managers should ask themselves whether the candidate they are interviewing has high growth potential and can make a long-term contribution.

Foss also said managers should exercise patience during the hiring process, since "there is no development system that is going to compensate for making a bad hire." Companies are also more likely to hold on to their executives and other employees and help them reach their full potential if they have great managers, Foss said. "Great bosses are the accelerator of high-potential employees," he said. "Bosses should be great coaches and motivators. I like our leaders to have a teachable point of view and share that point of view." Companies should also "never lose sight of developing talent," since longevity does not necessarily breed success, Foss said.

Un factor clave de la motivación en las personas es el crecimiento económico de la organización. Lo mismo sucede a nivel de una nación: el crecimiento es clave, siendo éste un factor autoactivador en la economía de un país.

La potencia incremental del factor crecimiento depende de su naturaleza, pudiéndose hablar de calidad del crecimiento o de su sostenibilidad. Un análisis de su razón es imprescindible para valorar el poder de afectación en la motivación de las personas de la organización.

El factor del crecimiento y su vinculación a la motivación de las personas de una organización debe ser valorado tanto por el departamento de dirección de personas, como por el profesional que esté sopesando la opción de incorporarse a la misma.

Cómo capacitar en innovación; qué peso tiene este tema en las organizaciones hoy; cómo lograr un equipo innovador que agregue valor a la empresa; las premisas fundamentales de la innovación. Estos fueron los principales tópicos que fueron surgiendo durante la entrevista que LEARNING REVIEW le realizó a Ricardo Perret Erhard, experto en innovación.