17 April
Picking People: An Example
Don't hire a person for what they can't do; hire them for what they can do.
A very great leader of men, General George C. Marshall, chief of staff of the U.S. Army during World War II, had the most remarkable record of putting people into the right place at the right time. He appointed something like six hundred people to positions as general officer, division commander, and so on, almost without a dud. And not one of these people had ever commanded troops before.
A discussion would come up, and Marshall's aides would say, "Colonel So-and-So is the best trainer of people we have, but he has never gotten along with his boss. If he has to testify before Congress, he'll be a disaster. He is so rude." Marshall would then ask, "What is the assignment? To train a division? If he is first-rate as a trainer, put him in. The rest is my job."
As a result, he created the largest army the world had ever seen, thirteen million people, in the shortest possible time, with very few mistakes. The lesson is to focus on strengths.
4月17日
用人示例
不要因为一个人做不了什么而不用他，而要因为他能做什么而用他。
伟大的领导者乔治·马歇尔将军（第二次世界大战期间的美国陆军参谋长），在用人方面有着极为卓越的记录。他几乎没有失误地任命了大约六百人担任将军、师长等职位，而这些人此前没有一个指挥过部队。
在讨论人选时，助手们常说：“某某上校是我们最好的训练者，但他与上司相处不好。如果要他在国会作证，他会是一场灾难，他太粗鲁了。”马歇尔会问：“这个岗位的任务是什么？是训练一个师吗？如果他是顶级训练者，就用他。其他问题由我负责。”
结果，他在最短时间内组建了一支规模达1300万人的军队，而且错误极少。其教训是：专注于优势。
