Analyzing Character: The New Science of Judging Men; Misfits in Business, the Home and Social LifeBlackford, Katherine M. H. (Katherine Melvina Huntsinger)
Science
Analyzing Character: The New Science of Judging Men; Misfits in Business, the Home and Social Life
Blackford, Katherine M. H. (Katherine Melvina Huntsinger)
Characters and characteristics; Success
The second element is character. A man may rate well in all the six
fundamentals with the exception of one, honesty, and he is not worth heat
and light and floor space, to say nothing of wages. Dishonest men do not
do honest work. The man who is deficient in honesty, in truthfulness, in
loyalty, is not really fit for any kind of work in a world where men are
interdependent--where the law of compensation is rigidly enforced. We
have chosen just a few qualities under the head of character: honesty,
truthfulness, loyalty, discretion, prudence, enthusiasm, courage,
steadfastness, and dependability. We might go on and on, adding
initiative, justice, kindness, good nature, courtesy, punctuality, etc.
INTELLIGENCE
The third criterion is intelligence. Intelligence, of course, relates to
mental ability--ability to learn and to understand and follow
instructions. Employers are slowly reaching the conclusion that
unintelligent labor is the most expensive kind of labor. The man who is
unintelligent cannot be taught. Employers cannot give him instructions and
feel absolutely sure that he understands them, or, even if he understands
them, that he will carry them out properly. Among the qualities which are
included under intelligence are judgment and memory, the powers of
observation, expression in speaking or in writing, imagination, reasoning
power, and all other qualities which are purely intellectual. Most
unintelligent people are merely mentally asleep. They need to awaken, to
be on the alert, really to take the trouble to think. Many people have
capacity for thought who do not use it.
INDUSTRY
The fourth element is disposition to industry. Some wag once said: "All
men are lazy, but some are lazier than others." It might sound better to
say that all men are industrious, but some men are more industrious than
others. There is such a quality of body and mind as the quality of
predisposition to action and industry. Industry is very largely dependent
upon energy. Energy depends upon oxygen. If one sits in a room that is
stuffy and not well ventilated, one soon becomes stupid, sleepy, and not
particularly acute mentally. In other words, he is partly starved for
oxygen. Now, let him go out into the open air and breathe plenty of oxygen
into his lungs. In a little while he raises his chest and brings up the
crown of his head and takes the positive physical attitude. He is more
energetic. He is eager for activity--for work. Some people are naturally
deficient in depth, activity, and quality of lung power. They do not
breathe in or use much oxygen, so they are lacking in energy. Such people
are not predisposed to industry. Love of work--love of the game that
causes a man to be interested in every phase of his work--is not, however,
wholly dependent upon energy. It is something in the very heart and fiber
of the man. Willingness to work, perseverance in work, and decision come
under disposition to industry.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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