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Why I Never Hire Brilliant Men (1924)

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Re: Why I Never Hire Brilliant Men (1924)

#121

Post by 3minus1 »

Detrus wrote: post #97
benjohnson wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reference was to the 12 apostles of Jesus - they were low in standing and generally unschooled.

Yea and a curious counterpoint is the church wouldn't be built without Paul, who wasn't in the original 12, was educated and a "brilliant" charmer.

That's an interesting spin, especially in light of the way people talk about how "Romanized" many aspects of Christianity to increase it's adoption. However, I think you could also see Paul as a dedicated manager, frequently writing letters of encouragement and advice to all the churches.

Re: Why I Never Hire Brilliant Men (1924)

#122

Post by pcurve »

badman_ting wrote: post #62
solve wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, he's definitely talking about SALES people, who use their sales tactics to sell him on themselves. Definitely not talking about "book smarts" brilliance. The author probably intentionally mistitled the story for attention. That said, there's a good lesson - if you hire sales people, their most attractive target will always be selling themselves to the guy who's writing their paycheck. It will not automaticall…

The weird thing is, why didn't he hire this person in a way that posed less risk to his business? Why is he handing over a gigantic check worth 140,000 of today's dollars? Isn't this person crazy, or at least a terrible businessman? Yet here we all are, listening to his advice. The longer I think about this the more I dislike it.

I agree it's a terrible hiring mistake. But this is a story about a mistake he made. Without it, there would be no story. (And hopefully he didn't make the same mistake afterward)

Re: Why I Never Hire Brilliant Men (1924)

#123

Post by gregw134 »

solve wrote: post #51
badman_ting wrote: post #23

Alternately, this is the story of a man who hired based on word of mouth, then when that didn't work out, learned the wrong lesson.

Indeed, he's definitely talking about SALES people, who use their sales tactics to sell him on themselves. Definitely not talking about "book smarts" brilliance. The author probably intentionally mistitled the story for attention. That said, there's a good lesson - if you hire sales people, their most attractive target will always be selling themselves to the guy who's writing their paycheck. It will not automaticall…

I think that's actually his point: that its better to hire an ordinary employee who will work hard at a realistic goal than to hire a flighty genius, whether self-appointed or not.

"Does he finish what he starts? Geniuses almost never do."

"These are quite simple rules...No Edison could ever qualify."

Re: Why I Never Hire Brilliant Men (1924)

#125

Post by busterarm »

chris_mahan wrote: post #115
busterarm wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really need to work at this. I definitely have always fit the "genius but doesn't finish things" description. I've been working at this hard for 8 years because it really has negatively affected my life. I'm making some progress but it's really slow and if I slack off even a little I tend to lose everything. It's hard.

The old expression "don't bite more than you can chew" epitomizes this. Don't start what you can't finish. It's in deciding what to start and what not to start that you'll make progress. Read "The Effective Executive" by Peter Drucker, which addresses this in greater detail.

Thanks. I really need to either clear more stuff off my plate or sort out my work situation where I don't have post-workday burnout. Between my job, family commitments and working on my vehicle, I have trouble finding time to start anything now. I get a tremendous amount done when I'm not working.

I either have to settle with how things are now or change the work situation I think. I'll look into that book anyway.

Re: Why I Never Hire Brilliant Men (1924)

#126

Post by iamwil »

"That criticism may be justifiable, for I am mediocre. But the point I have in mind is this: Business and life are built upon successful mediocrity; and victory comes to companies, not through the employment of brilliant men, but through knowing how to get the most out of ordinary folks."

The point of the article. Is this still true? I imagine you do need exceptional people to be able to hit the high notes (10x programmers and all that jazz).

Or am I interpreting this wrong, since the way he's using the word "brilliant" is a bit sarcastic, or at least archaic?

Re: Why I Never Hire Brilliant Men (1924)

#128

Post by npsimons »

cbp wrote: post #55
TrainedMonkey wrote: post #14

It appears that men labeled as genius were simply men of high charisma capable of convincing and inspiring others.

And since those qualities are so out of reach for techies they're looked down on.

False: http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html

Techies could easily game the system; but that's a boring game for boring people, and in the grand scheme of things does not matter. There are much more important things to spend time on.

Re: Why I Never Hire Brilliant Men (1924)

#129

Post by iamwil »

d23 wrote: post #19

What if you aren't a finisher? How can you become one?

Depends on why you don't finish things. Often times, it's probably a mental attitude that's a road block.

If you quit when things get hard, maybe you need to realize that hard things are hard. Anything worth finishing will require you to bleed.

If you quit because you have to "feel like it" to work, you should work even when you don't feel like it. Hard things are hard, and nothing would ever get done if people did it only when they felt like it.

There are many reasons why people aren't finishers. You need to find out why, and then figure out similar people that have overcome it and the specific tactics they used to overcome it.

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