In this AMA, former CHRO and CEO Works partner Hein Knaapen shares lessons from 35+ years inside large global companies advising CEOs and senior leaders on performance and value creation.

He explains why most organizations focus on the wrong things — and why company performance ultimately comes down to a few fundamentals. Hein discusses the three non-negotiables every company must protect, why frontline managers have a bigger impact than senior leadership strategy, and how hiring failures often stem from poorly defined roles rather than bad candidates.

He also reframes performance management as an ongoing conversation rather than an annual review, and argues that talent only exists in relation to the specific challenges of a role.

Key themes:
• The real drivers of company performance
• Why managers matter more than strategy
• How to avoid hiring mistakes
• What HR should actually focus on
• A practical definition of performance management