Analyzing Character Part 4

EMOTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Emotional requirements are many and varied; even more numerous and of greater variety than intellectual requirements, perhaps. Some vocations require great courage, others not; some require a great deal of sympathy; others demand a certain hardness and control of the sympathies. There are vocations which require a keen sense of justice; others in which the presence or absence of a sense of justice is not essential. And so, there must be taken into consideration requirements for honor, for love, for loyalty, for dependableness, for enthusiasm, for unselfishness, for caution, for prudence, for religion, for faith, for hope, for optimism, for cheerfulness, for contentment, for earnestness, and for reverence.

THE COMPLEXITY OF HONESTY

Honesty is laid down by all authorities on employment as absolutely essential to success in any vocation, but there are many kinds of honesty and many standards of honesty. As a matter of fact, each man has his own standard of honesty. After all, it is, perhaps, not so much a question of what a man's standards are as how well he lives up to them. We recall, especially, the cases of two men a.s.sociated together in business. One man set his standards high. Intellectually, he knew the value of ethics in conduct. He truly wished to make practical in his dealings the high principles he admired. But his cupidity was strong and his will and courage were weak, so he oftentimes argued himself, by specious casuistry, into words and acts which were untruthful and dishonest. Oftentimes, indeed, they came dangerously near to actual crimes against the laws of the State. The other man had rather limited standards of honesty. His motto was, "Let the buyer beware!" If those with whom he dealt were as strong and intelligent as he, and he was clever enough to take advantage of them, he regarded the spoils as rightfully his. It was all in the game.

"I don't squeal when they catch me napping," he said, "and why should I look out for their interests?" But he never took advantage of the weak, the ignorant, the inexperienced, or the too credulous. His word was as good as gold. His principles were few and intensely practical, and he would willingly lose thousands of dollars rather than violate one of them.

Honesty is a complex virtue. It means, fundamentally, just and honorable intentions. But it involves, also, knowledge of what is right, a keen and discriminating sense of justice, a true sense of values, courage and will-power to carry out honest intentions, and, finally, sufficient earning power to meet all righteous obligations. Dishonest acts result far more often from ignorance, warped sense of justice, inability to appreciate values, cowardice, weak will, or incompetence, than from wrong intent. Whether or not any individual is endowed with the necessary honesty for success in any particular vocation is, therefore, a problem which can be settled only by careful a.n.a.lysis of all its requirements. Law and banking both require a high _degree_ of honesty, but the _kinds_ are different.

THE HIGH QUALITY OF COURAGE

Next to honesty, perhaps, courage is most important. The individual who lacks courage shows no initiative; he has no ability to fight his own battles, to stand by his guns, to a.s.sert and maintain his convictions and his rights. He is, therefore, always a misfit in any vocation where he is required to take the initiative, to step out and a.s.sume responsibilities, to guide and direct the work of others, to meet others in, compet.i.tion, to discipline others, to defend himself against the attack of others, to defend the rights of those depending upon him as employees, or stockholders, or partners. He may be excellently qualified as a research worker, an experimenter, an administrator of affairs, a teacher, a writer, a lecturer, an artist, or in almost any kind of work where initiative, aggressiveness, and fighting ability are not prime essentials.

PRUDENCE

Almost as important in its bearing upon vocational fitness as honesty and courage is prudence. This is the quality which causes men to bear responsibility faithfully; it is that which makes effective in them a sense of duty. It is the emotional quality which leads men to take precautions, to provide against the future. It is that which prevents them from recklessness in expenditure or speculation, from carelessness, from irresponsibility. It is an absolutely essential quality wherever dependability is required; where one is expected to a.s.sume and to carry responsibility, to see that things are done accurately that necessities are provided, that emergencies are prevented.

On the other hand, there are many vocations in which too great prudence, too great caution, is a handicap instead of an advantage. The man who is too cautious, who bears responsibility too heavily, is not fitted for positions and vocations which involve a certain amount of personal danger.

He is also likely to be too conservative to enter upon vocations in which a considerable element of speculation is involved. He is not disposed to take chances; he is too apprehensive and too much given to anxiety to be involved in any vocation where there is uncertainty as to outcome. Many vocations also require a fine blending of prudence with a willingness to take chances and a certain degree of recklessness.

THE ELEMENTS OF ENVIRONMENT

Such is any kind of work in which the results are not tangible and immediately and constantly measurable. In our practice we meet many who grow impatient, apprehensive, and even discouraged when knowledge of success of their efforts is deferred--or is even problematical. These people would far rather work in a subordinate position at a small salary, _certain_ to be paid every pay day, than to make twice as much money on a commission basis but not be certain just how much they would be paid on pay day. Thus it is clear that a salesman on a commission basis must have a dash of recklessness in him, and yet, if he is selling high priced goods and wishes to build a permanent business, must be careful and prudent in handling his trade.

The essential elements of environment and their subdivisions are shown in Chart 2. A brief discussion of some of these may clarify the subject.

CHART 2

|Policy of House | |Moral | |Physical |Standards.............< commercial="" |="" |artistic="" |="">

| | |In Place of Business |Physical Surroundings.< in="" locality="" |="" |in="" home="" |="" |="" |personal="" preference="">< |="" |personality="" |="" |="" |personal="" preference="">< superior="">< personality="" |="" |methods="" |="" |="" |in="" business="">< in="" locality="" |="" |socially="" |="" |="" |hours="" of="" labor="" |="" |periods="" of="" rest="" |="" |temperature="" |="" |compensation="" |working="">< opportunities="" |="" |underground="" |="" |elevation="" |="" |danger="" |="">

POLICY AND STANDARDS

For a man faithfully and loyally to live up to and represent the policy of the house is obviously necessary. But oftentimes it takes rather definite characteristics to do this.

Every business inst.i.tution has, or should have, its moral, commercial, financial, artistic, and other standards with reference to personnel, according to the character of the business and other important considerations. And the man who contemplates work with any firm will examine himself to see whether he can harmonize happily with these standards. In like manner, every profession and art has its traditional standards and ethics, which should be considered.

PHYSICAL SURROUNDINGS

In selecting his vocation, the wise man ascertains his fitness for its physical surroundings. Some men cannot work permanently indoors, underground, in a high alt.i.tude, in a hot or cold climate, in a damp or a dry climate, in high or low artificial temperature, in the midst of noise or dust or chemical fumes, or by artificial light, or in a locality where certain social advantages do not exist or where satisfactory homes cannot be rented or purchased. Some men are not fitted for city life; others are not fitted for country life. All these and other facts should be taken into consideration with reference to surroundings.

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERIORS

The management of every place has its personal preferences, not based on efficiency. We once knew a manager who was so distressed by impediments of speech that he could not endure persons with these peculiarities in his organization, although their manner of speech had nothing to do with the quality of their work. Every manager has some more or less marked idiosyncrasies, and these must be known and studied by prospective employees. The personality of the management and its effect upon the worker under its direction and leadership are other important factors. The manager who is a keen, positive driver will get good results with a certain type of people in his organization, but only with a certain type.

The efficiency of every man in the organization is also conditioned very largely upon the personal preferences, personality, and methods of his immediate superior--his foreman, gang-boss, or chief. Certain types of men harmonize and work well together. Other types are antagonistic and discordant. By their very nature they cannot work in the harmony which is essential to efficiency. In making choice of work, the man with good judgment scrutinizes all these important elements.

a.s.sOCIATES AND SOCIAL ADVANTAGES

Every vocation has its social environment. There are fellow employees, or professional a.s.sociates, inevitable in the work itself; also the particular cla.s.s of society fixed by locality, income, or the standing of the vocation.

This chart may seem, at first sight, to be complex. It must necessarily be so, since it is arranged to cover all professions and trades and all industrial and commercial positions, from the presidency of a corporation, general managership of a railroad, sales management of a factory, or cashiership of a bank, as well as less exalted jobs, down to those requiring little, if anything, more than brute strength. Obviously, not all of these facts need to be considered by every aspirant, but only those which have a bearing upon his particular case. The tendency, however, is to neglect important factors rather than to waste time over those which are unimportant.

PERSONAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROBLEM

Having determined, in the manner indicated, the standards of work and of the environment, the man is ready to examine himself to determine where he fits. There are six headings under which he may cla.s.sify the various items of information needed in fitting himself to work and environment. These are health, character, intelligence, disposition to industry, natural apt.i.tudes, and experience, as shown in Chart 3. This chart does not, of course, present a complete and detailed list, but it is suggestive.[2] It would not be true to say that any one of these is absolutely more important than the other. They are all important. Their relative importance may be determined by the vocation to be considered.

[Footnote 2: See more detailed lists in appendix.]

HEALTH

Consider the question of health. We include all a man's physical attributes under health. The cla.s.sification is somewhat arbitrary, but it will be understood. A man must consider himself as to his size, as to his strength, as to his endurance, as to his condition of body (which shows habits), as to his predisposition to health, as to disease, as to his moral health, as to his sobriety, as to his sanity, etc.

CHART 3

|Size |Endurance |Condition of Body In other words, what Health........< predispositions="" his="" physical="" value="" is="" for="" |morality="" a="" given="" work="" in="" a="" |sobriety="" given="" environment="" |sanity="">

|Honesty |Truthfulness |Loyalty |Discretion and Prudence Character.....< enthusiasm="" |courage="" |steadfastness="" |dependability="" |etc.,="" etc="">

|Ability to Learn |Ability to Understand and Follow Instructions |Judgment |Memory |Observation Intelligence..< |speaking="">< |="" |writing="" |imagination="" |reason="" |etc.,="">

|Energy |Love of Work Disposition to Industry < willingness="" |perseverance="" |decision="" |etc.,="">

|Financial |Commercial |Mechanical |Artistic |Judicial |Executive |Selling |Advertising |Agriculture Natural Apt.i.tudes.......< medical="" |educational="" |legal="" |engineering="" |floricultural="" |horticultural="" |stock="" breeding="" |speed="" |accuracy="" |patience="" |attention="" to="" detail="">

|Education Experience..............< training="" |previous="" record="">

Without at least fair physical fitness for his work and for his environment, no man can do efficient work in any position.

CHARACTER

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 s.p.a.ce, 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.