"
CHAPTER EIGHT
IMAGINATION
In his very stimulating book, _Learning and Doing_, Professor Swift quotes
from a business man as follows: "Modern business no longer waits for men
to qualify after promotion. Through anticipation and prior preparation
every growing man must be largely ready for his new job when it comes to
him. I find very few individuals make any effort to think out better ways
of doing things. They do not anticipate needs, do not keep themselves
fresh at the growing point. If ever they had any imagination they seem to
have lost it, and imagination is needed in a growing business, for it is
through the imagination that one anticipates future changes and so
prepares for them before they come. Accordingly, as a general proposition,
the selection of a man for a vacancy within the organization is more or
less a matter of guesswork. Now and then an ambitious, wide-awake young
man works into the organization and in a very short time is spotted by
various department managers for future promotion, but the number of such
individuals is discouragingly small. The difficulty with which we are
always confronted is that our business grows faster than do those within
it. The men do not keep up with our changes. The business grows away from
them, and quite reluctantly the management is frequently compelled to go
outside for necessary material. We need, at the present time, four or five
subordinate chiefs in various parts of the factory and I can fill none of
the positions satisfactorily from material in hand.
Pages:
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81