Ain’t no man can avoid being born average, but there ain’t no man got to be common.

If you carefully read the recent "My friend Dave / Satchel Paige" post, you will remember that quote.

Everybody has an opportunity, but many do not take it.  It is hard work to rise beyond being common and certainly easier to just be average, but the opportunity is there.  At various times in this blog,  I have chronicled some who have risen beyond "common."

Opinion:

Borrowing from Mike Huckabee, the current "minority party" needs to present itself as the party that believes in giving people opportunities to improve, rather than the majority party whose ideology is that of passing out enough money that everyone can be average without having to work too hard for it, or even work at all.  

And to those who have worked hard, the current majority party says, "we are going to penalize you for working hard by taking your money and giving it to those who prefer not to work hard."  (All the bureaucrats who help administer this robbery and redistribution get a slice of the pie in the form of wages and benefits beyond the level of the non-public employees.)

Fact:

At Richway, as I have noted before (January 8, 2013), part of our philosophy was that people were given "a lot of rope" in their job.  They could "hang" themselves or use the opportunity to excel, have fun doing it, learn new skills, try some of their ideas (generally without fear of retribution for failure), and generally rise beyond being "common."    This "rope and opportunity" was available to everyone we hired. 

Some handled it well and eventually moved to other opportunities outside Richway.  I have stayed in touch with a lot of them.  Some handled it well and remained at Richway.  I am in touch with them.  For others, it was as if it was too much work to do well, so they failed to one degree or another --- some very miserably and visibly  --- others quietly.

Looking back, I should have been more clear at the time of hiring that they were going to be responsible for their own success or failure.  Then I/we should have provided more coaching and support for those who truly wanted to succeed, but needed some help in implementation.   Coaching and support, Yes.      Tight management, No


Quoting from my post of January 8:
 "Jim Collins, the author of Good to Great  and numerous other books, once said: "The right people don't need to be managed.  If you need to tightly manage someone, you've made a hiring mistake."  In the same vein, if someone needs to be taught everything, you have the wrong person." 

As a nation we need to be sure we are creating the conditions for the opportunity and incentive to rise above being common. 

 

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