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Another take on recruitment and talent
I recently came across this management principle of Dee Hock, the founder and former CEO of the VISA credit card association:
"Hire and promote first on the basis of integrity; second, motivation; third, capacity; fourth, understanding; fifth, knowledge; and last and least, experience. Without integrity, motivation is dangerous; without motivation, capacity is impotent; without capacity, understanding is limited; without understanding, knowledge is meaningless; without knowledge, experience is blind. Experience is easy to provide and quickly put to good use by people with all the other qualities."
I found this view refreshing, it contradicts a lot of 'convensional wisdom' with regards to the finding and retaining talented individuals. I've often felt that too much value is placed on knowledge and experience, and too little on the character of the person, and ensuring that he or she would fit into the culture of the organisation ...
Interesting idea. I'll keep it in mind when next I interview candidates.
A question though. How to determine integrity and motivation in the absence of a track record (experience)? Can't both be faked? Certain sociopathic personalities, as well as many garden variety criminal opportunists, excell at manipulation and creating false positive impressions. Just look at any South African newspaper on any given day for plenty of examples in the public and corporate sectors.
Leon
This is so true and a good reminder of what is important - especially the capacity to be able to operate in a relevant manner and to apply relevant techniques for the context and the situation. This will also include emotional and social capacity, and the capacity to learn for and in the specific situation. We often found that this is what is making a difference when we are consulting at clients.