Comments on: Why I Never Hire Brilliant Men http://www.trickjarrett.com/2007/10/29/why-i-never-hire-brilliant-men/ Live Brave Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:34:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Jeff http://www.trickjarrett.com/2007/10/29/why-i-never-hire-brilliant-men/#comment-295 Jeff Fri, 02 Nov 2007 04:29:48 +0000 http://www.trickjarrett.com/2007/10/29/why-i-never-hire-brilliant-men/#comment-295 Actually, this is pretty much exactly the kind of moralizing about the worth of "salt of the earth" hard work that I would expect to see in an article published in 1924. The introduction notes that the article was published in "one of those general-purpose mass-circulation magazines which transmitted the popular culture of the day to the households of America." Given the audience, it's really not a surprise that the article espouses the virtues of simple hard work and sows mistrust of people the author labels "brilliant." You know those darned smart people that think they're so much better than you? Well, they're not all they're cracked to be. I've got proof (personal experience with THREE of them!) that you simple folk are actually wiser and better than they are! No wonder it was snapped up as advice. *shrug* I'm not saying the guy was being disingenuous. He probably believed everything he wrote in that article. Neither am I knocking hard work and determination. At the same time, I don't think this guy would have recognized true brilliance if it had jumped up and bit him. Nor do I think he was prepared by his life experiences to imagine the kinds of work where truly brilliant people make a difference. His definition of success in life seems to be pretty tightly rooted to the idea of making money in a small business, and his definition of a brilliant man seems to actually be "fast-talking risk-taker." Again, he speaks of what he knows, and his lack of experience shows. I guess what I'm saying is that I see this more as an interesting history and sociology lesson rather than advice to be taken seriously. I think most people would agree with me. I can't speak for the truly brilliant people of the world, but I don't think they would _want_ to work for someone who takes this article seriously anyway. :) Actually, this is pretty much exactly the kind of moralizing about the worth of "salt of the earth" hard work that I would expect to see in an article published in 1924. The introduction notes that the article was published in "one of those general-purpose mass-circulation magazines which transmitted the popular culture of the day to the households of America." Given the audience, it's really not a surprise that the article espouses the virtues of simple hard work and sows mistrust of people the author labels "brilliant." You know those darned smart people that think they're so much better than you? Well, they're not all they're cracked to be. I've got proof (personal experience with THREE of them!) that you simple folk are actually wiser and better than they are! No wonder it was snapped up as advice.

*shrug* I'm not saying the guy was being disingenuous. He probably believed everything he wrote in that article. Neither am I knocking hard work and determination. At the same time, I don't think this guy would have recognized true brilliance if it had jumped up and bit him. Nor do I think he was prepared by his life experiences to imagine the kinds of work where truly brilliant people make a difference. His definition of success in life seems to be pretty tightly rooted to the idea of making money in a small business, and his definition of a brilliant man seems to actually be "fast-talking risk-taker." Again, he speaks of what he knows, and his lack of experience shows.

I guess what I'm saying is that I see this more as an interesting history and sociology lesson rather than advice to be taken seriously. I think most people would agree with me. I can't speak for the truly brilliant people of the world, but I don't think they would _want_ to work for someone who takes this article seriously anyway. :)

]]> By: Asai http://www.trickjarrett.com/2007/10/29/why-i-never-hire-brilliant-men/#comment-290 Asai Wed, 31 Oct 2007 18:01:40 +0000 http://www.trickjarrett.com/2007/10/29/why-i-never-hire-brilliant-men/#comment-290 i would have loved to see more articles with different perspectives on this... some really good points but still glaringly one sided... i would have loved to see more articles with different perspectives on this... some really good points but still glaringly one sided...

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