You might think that the corporate human resources function doesn’t have much of a role in improving business processes, such as product development, operations, customer service, or distribution. But I’ve found that it does. HR can propel or inhibit process improvement because it has an outsized influence on people: how they are recruited, rewarded, and developed. In organizations like IBM, Lowe’s, and Harvard Vanguard where HR has accelerated change, it has emerged from its compliance and administrative focus to make bold changes in spite of regulations, bureaucratic entanglements, and other barriers.