Jeff Smith, BlackRock’s longtime HR head, treats that math as a trap to escape rather than a fact to accept. “The job of HR is one of the hardest, and without great talent, it has no chance of success,” he says. Departments copying the approach give their people the same three things:Marquee problems : Staff HR talent on mergers, AI adoption, and workforce redesign, the assignments executives actually watch. : Staff HR talent on mergers, AI adoption, and workforce redesign, the assignments executives actually watch. “The job of HR is one of the hardest, and without great talent, it has no chance of success,” says Jeff Smith, BlackRock’s former HR head.