Former UCS Santa Barbara Gevirtz School Ph.D. student David Forman has written a book titled Fearless HR: Driving Business Results. The book explains the value of HR to business competition and the importance of breaking down the current negative perceptions of HR. Forman rebuilds HR as a powerful tool that can be used to drive business results with confidence and the right skill set.
In the book, Forman addresses the stigma against HR through research analysis. Then he breaks down the perceptions – that HR is a weak discipline, a dead-end career that doesn’t contribute to business value – that professionals must break. He outlines the skills needed to make HR relevant in business, highlighting the impact that HR really has to power business.
The forward to the book is by leadership scholar and consultant Dave Ulrich, author of best-sellers like The Why of Work and Human Resource Champions.
David Forman is President of Sage Learning Systems and former Chief Learning Officer (CLO) for Human Capital Institute (HCI). At HCI, Forman developed and taught courses to elevate the role of HR in industry, courses that have been taken by over 10,000 employees.
Forman did both his undergraduate and graduate work at UCSB, studying international education at the Gevirtz School. Connections through research projects led to time abroad in Iran developing radio and television education programs in 1976-77; connections from that experience drew him deeper into the corporate training route. Because of growing family obligations, Forman decided to take his skills and experience to the growing corporate market as opposed to pursuing an academic career. He returned to California for the HCI position, where he reconnected with UCSB.