Every year, thousands of HR leaders gather at SHRM's annual conference with a common aspiration: Earn greater influence. Become more strategic. Get a seat at the executive table. But after reviewing this year's conference agenda, a key What if the reason HR isn't consistently invited into enterprise strategy conversations isn't because CEOs undervalue HR?

In emerging growth B2B firms, CEOs, and often the other senior leadership team members, wear multiple hats including "sales leader". In...