Integrity Before Experience

Last week I quoted and discussed Dee Hock, the founder of Visa International and overall business visionary.   Cool stuff from some years ago that I am rediscovering.  I invite you to read more on Dee Hock yourself.

For today, a quote on hiring staff, and I would add, how we should consider promotions in the workplace.  Too often we get it wrong and hire / promote people for the wrong reasons.   This quote also speaks to what we should expect from our leaders.  Experience is important, but without a proper foundation, our leaders can act in inconsistent and even odd ways.

Maybe this quote is too ideal and not realistic, but to damn with that.  Let’s together stand up for a better way to tap into the potential of people to not just get a job done, but to expand our capacity and produce … magic.

Hire and promote first on the basis of integrity; second, motivation; third, capacity; fourth, understanding; fifth, knowledge; and last and least, experience. 

Without integrity, motivation is dangerous;

without motivation, capacity is impotent;

without capacity, understanding is limited;

without understanding, knowledge is meaningless;

without knowledge, experience is blind.

Experience is easy to provide and quickly put to good use by people with all the above qualities.