The organizations that will win in the future of work are the ones that understand a simple truth: people are not a cost centre; they’re the performance engine. When teams have clarity, autonomy, and the right tools, performance shifts from incremental to exponential, creating advantages competitors can’t easily replicate.

Through case studies, data-driven insights, and real examples from transformation mandates and boardrooms, Allana Schmidt explores what it takes to scale without losing trust, build autonomy without losing discipline, and use AI and analytics to sharpen—not replace—human judgment. The result is a practical and deeply human guide for leaders who want their organizations to move with speed, conviction, and integrity.

Grounded in two decades of executive leadership across complex business environments, The High-Performing Human-Centered Workplace puts forward a direct thesis: performance in the workplace is engineered—and so is the experience that drives it! Your operating model is how your people and teams think, act, and make decisions. When that system is engineered well, the whole company scales faster and performs better.

Readers will learn how to:

• Treat culture and performance as one integrated system

• Build clarity for teams that accelerates execution

• Empower autonomy anchored in meaningful accountability

• Use AI and analytics to strengthen strategy and decision quality

• Align people strategy and business strategy to drive enterprise value

This book is for leaders who feel the shift happening—those building, scaling, and reinventing organizations for a world that will not slow down. For CEOs, founders, board directors, and HR and people leaders, it offers a compelling way forward: build a workplace where people excel, and performance will follow.