Most businesses are sitting on a goldmine and don’t even know it. They spend months analyzing market data and competitor strategies, but miss the obvious growth opportunity right under their nose. Jamie Durling figured this out the hard way during his two decades as a chief HR executive and public speaker, working across luxury retail, trade shows, and media companies. He’s watched too many CEOs chase external growth while ignoring the potential of their own people.
Questioning Untapped Business Potential
Durling has a question that makes most executives uncomfortable. “What if your company’s biggest untapped profit driver isn’t a new market, but rather your people?” he asks. It sounds simple, but most leaders can’t answer it honestly. They know their quarterly numbers better than they know what drives their best performers. After years of leading post-merger integrations and complete operating overhauls, Durling keeps seeing the same pattern. Companies pour money into new systems and processes while their people strategy gets an afterthought. The ones that break through do something different. They figure out that fixing the people side of business isn’t separate from business strategy. It is business strategy.
People Strategy Equals Business Strategy
“People strategy equals business strategy,” he says, and he means it literally. Not the feel-good HR version where everyone gets pizza parties and motivational posters. He’s talking about something that shows up in profit margins. “In every transformation I’ve led, from post-merger integrations to full operating model overhauls, one truth stands out: the human element determines success or failure.” The companies beating their competition understand this connection. “The companies that outperform don’t just invest in technology or processes, they invest in leaders who create clarity, connection, and accountability across the organization,” Durling explains. They treat leadership development as seriously as product development. With serious money and serious attention.
Culture Is A Performance Multiplier
Most companies talk about culture as if it’s decoration. Something nice to have when business is good. He has seen what happens when culture becomes a business tool instead. “Culture isn’t just a side project. It’s a performance enhancer,” he points out. The difference shows up in ways that matter to the bottom line. “When teams feel seen, valued, and trusted, productivity doesn’t just improve. It compounds,” Durling says. He’s watched this happen enough times to know it’s not luck. “I’ve seen firsthand how a high-performance culture can turn struggling business units into profit centers. It’s not magic, it’s method.” The method just happens to involve treating people as if they matter.
Rethinking ROI, Return On Individuals
He wants executives to change how they think about returns. Everyone obsesses over ROI for equipment and marketing spend, but nobody calculates the return on developing their people. “Instead of asking what’s our ROI, start asking what’s our return on individuals?” he suggests. The question forces uncomfortable honesty about how companies actually operate. “Are we enabling talent to thrive or just survive?” Durling asks. Most organizations can’t honestly say they’re helping people reach their potential. “From workforce planning to performance metrics, every system should unlock potential, not box it in. That’s how real sustainable profit is built.”
The shift Durling advocates isn’t complicated, but it requires guts. Stop seeing employees as expenses and start seeing them as engines for growth. “It’s time we stop treating people as cost centers and start seeing them as growth engines,” he says. The companies that make this mental shift pull ahead of the pack. For leaders ready to try something different, Durling has a simple offer. “If you’re ready to lead through people, not just process, let’s talk.” He’s confident that businesses willing to invest seriously in their people will leave the competition behind. The question is whether executives are ready to bet on what’s been in front of them all along.
Connect with Jamie Durling on LinkedIn to explore how people strategy can unlock growth.
