About the Book

Preface:  The 365 CHRO

THE 365 CHRO

Football also serves as a great example of unifying star talent, connecting people from diverse backgrounds through the excitement and passion for achieving common goals.

Throughout this book, simple football metaphors are used to illustrate concepts and make them more relatable and simple to understand, regardless of your familiarity with the sport.

Tactical Plays:

  • Gain a playbook for visionary HR leadership, blending strategic prowess with tactical finesse.
  • Unlock the secrets to building a championship HR team that thrives in recruitment, training, and leadership development.
  • Scout the competition effectively – learn from their successes, failures, and innovative strategies.
  • Execute game-day strategies with precision, ensuring your HR operations run smoothly and efficiently.
  • Lead from the sidelines, balancing inspiration and resilience in the face of challenges.
  • Develop endurance for the long HR season, focusing on sustainable practices and maintaining a winning culture.
  • Analyze game film for continuous improvement, leveraging metrics, analytics, and a mindset of excellence.
  • Craft a strategic plan for the upcoming HR season with the guidance of a 3-month roadmap.

Your journey to becoming an exceptional CHRO starts now!

In "The 365 CHRO," author Rob, a seasoned HR veteran and performance improvement consultant, takes new Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) on a journey through the complexities of human resources leadership. With over 25 years of experience, Rob's mission is to equip newly appointed CHROs with the strategies to hit the ground running and achieve value.

The book begins with visionary leadership, emphasizing the importance of setting a clear vision and mission for HR. Drawing parallels to football, "The 365 CHRO" encourages CHROs to adopt a proactive offensive strategy, leveraging talent acquisition, training, and development to drive organizational success. "The 365 CHRO" then explores defensive resilience, urging CHROs to fortify HR strategies to withstand challenges and promote organizational stability.
Additionally, "The 365 CHRO" emphasizes the power of collaboration, engagement, and individual excellence to improve overall organizational culture.


"The 365 CHRO" also emphasizes the importance of continuous improvement and reflection, urging CHROs to embrace a mindset of iterative excellence. Through his parallels drawn from football, "The 365 CHRO" also emphasizes the need for post-game analysis to drive HR success and navigate the HR game to achieve a championship season.

In the conclusion, "The 365 CHRO" summarizes all of the tactics through a comprehensive 3-month plan, empowering new CHROs to hit the ground running and drive immediate impact in their new roles. With its blend of strategic foresight, tactical expertise, and practical guidance, "The 365 CHRO" serves as an indispensable resource for CHROs seeking to elevate their leadership and make a lasting impact in the field of human resources.

In a refreshing perspective, "The 365 CHRO" approaches the complexities of Human Resources with metaphors of football. Believing that football contains a common language that we can all appreciate as we have either cheered for a high-school or college team, our kids, or family members who have played the sport, or simply watched a college or NFL game on the weekend.


Welcome to Human Resources Stadium—where strategy, agility, value, execution, and teamwork are the benchmarks of success. You're not just stepping into the game of Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) leadership; you're gearing up for a championship season that will redefine your success in the first 365 days on the field.

In football, the first quarter sets the tone for the entire game. Similarly, the first 3 months of your leadership will require a well-executed drive leading to a touchdown. This book can serve as a play sheet, including winning plays, strategic moves, and tactical maneuvers to support your success. During your first 3 months, it's important to get a fast start to represent value and your leadership abilities.

If you are taking the CHRO role for the first time, this book will provide a strategic view of assessing your new organization, identifying high-priority items that need to be addressed, and methods to address these problems. Just as a football coach has the play sheet in his hands during the entire game, this book can serve as a reference for strategic and tactical plays to call during your first three months, and subsequently, all 365 days of the year.

If you are an experienced CHRO, this book provides directional guidance to call the right plays to identify and solve organizational problems.

As you take the field with your new team as the newly appointed CHRO, you are the star quarterback, the general manager, the offensive and defensive coordinator, and the special teams coach—all combined into one. You'll find insights into the importance of connecting with your teammates—your C Suite leaders, the HR team, and the entire organization. It's time to call the right plays and lay the groundwork for a winning season. 

The game has a rulebook, and in HR, compliance is your primary objective. Each year updates are made, helping guide you in the field of regulations and keep your team free from penalties. Think of it as your game’s referee, ensuring fair play and protecting your team from unnecessary flags.

Football is dynamic, and so is HR leadership. With this book, I hope to provide helpful tactics to support the fast break moments that can serve as quick wins to change the momentum of the game. It's about seizing opportunities, calling informed plays, and scoring points early in the game.

As you progress through each quarter of the game, chapter by chapter, strategic and tactical play guidance is highlighted to elevate your team to championship status. It's about assembling an all-star lineup, nurturing talent, and creating an environment where everyone can bring their A-game. This book's approach emphasizes building a "fit" organization, founded on principles of engagement, collaboration, partnership, and a culture of inclusion, ensuring that every member feels valued and empowered to contribute their best.

During the game, communication is the key to a well-executed play. The importance of effective communication is critical, not just within your team but across the entire organization. It's time to inspire your players and ensure everyone is on the same page for a winning season.

As you reach the final quarter, you'll be equipped with strategies to sustain a 365-day season—a game plan that assesses past performance and integrates future improvements with organizational goals. This isn't just about winning a single game; it's about securing the championship, season after season.

If you are a first-time CHRO, the plays covered in each chapter are summarized (at the end of Chapter 8) into a non-prescriptive 3-month strategic roadmap to help you score a touchdown quickly.  So, here's to you, the CHRO—the quarterback, coach, general manager, offensive and defensive coordinator, and special teams coach.  As you have picked up by now, I am a fan of football, as evident from the metaphors throughout this opening. 

In most cases, I believe football contains a common language that we can all appreciate as we have either cheered our high-school or college team, our kids, or family members who have played the sport, or simply watched a college or NFL game on the weekend.

Football also serves as a great example of unifying star talent, connecting people from diverse backgrounds through the excitement and passion for achieving common goals. 

Throughout this book, simple football analogies are provided to illustrate key concepts and make them more relatable, regardless of your familiarity with the sport.