The Big Three (or One)
The shelves of bookstores and libraries are full of the latest ideas, tips, methods, techniques, etc. which are designed to help people succeed in their chosen professions. Courses, gadgets, gizmos, seminars, websites, podcasts, and workshops are numerous that ostensibly help people to find a job/career and “move up the ladder” quickly in the workforce. “Life coaches” are more than willing (for a fee) to help prospective employees and/or current employees who want to make a name for himself or herself in the corporate world. Advice and instruction is provided on all sorts of subjects and comes in a variety of forms.
Have you ever wondered what a real expert has to say about all of this? Wouldn’t it be helpful to listen to somebody who is, himself, very successful in the business and economic world and who has hired, evaluated, and “terminated” a lot of people?
I’m reasonably sure that most who read this will agree that Warren Buffett fits that description. If we don’t know anything else about him, we probably have heard that he is very rich. According to what I read recently, his assets amount to $147 billion. That makes him the eighth richest person in the entire world.
While he had already found ways to make money prior to graduating from college, I guess that it could be said that his actual career did not begin until after his graduation from college in 1951. At age ninety-four, he is still actively involved and “in tune” with current events, investment philosophies, business and societal trends, etc.
I typed all of that in order to say that Mr. Buffett has more than adequate credentials to offer advice about what “really works” in the business world. That is especially true as it relates to the kind of people who make an organization successful.
I will close this short post with one of his quotes without making any comments of my own except to suggest that it might be helpful to listen to some old people with what seem to be old-fashioned ideas. Here is Mr. Buffet’s quote:
“Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it, it’s true. If you hire somebody without [integrity], you really want them to be dumb and lazy.”
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
