The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-11-06
WHY MANY YOUNG MEN FAIL
The Lack of Thoroughness and
Want of Application to Business.

shoulders rests the executive responsi
bility of John Wanamaker's great New
York establishment, is of opinion
based on forty-odd years. experience
in the employment of young men, thai
all the causes contributive to failure
in a business career are embraced in 6
single comprehensive negative quail
ity-lack of thoughness-thatp pauclty
of intellect which begets the perfume,
tory performance vf duty and deprives
the hand of dominating skill. Per-
haps no man IN the drygoods trade is
better qualified to speak convincipgly
on the subject of why men fail than
Mr.. Ogden, and this is what he says
about thai very important question:
Failure to achieve success In busl-
ness, falling short of great desires
and b., aims on the part of young
men, is ceable to one primal cause
the absence Of tLoroughness. In the
race for supremacy IN all commercial
undertakings, nine out of every ten
men, either fail absolutely or become
nonentlties, not because they lack am
bition, not because the proper oppor-
tunitles for advancement have not
come to them, not because they have
not received the best educational ad-
yantages or are handicapped by poor
health, but because thes have never
been at pains to- master completely
the thin. II has been given them to
do. The world is overcrowded with
men, young and old, who remain sta
tionary, filling minor positions and
drawing meagre salaries, simply be-
cause they have never thought it worth
while to achieve mastery in the pur-
suits they have chosen to follow
Mostly, this is so because the average
young man fears hard work, and would
stances than pull against it.
Everywhere L see mentally near
sighted young men discontinued be-
cause of their small incomes, and chat
ing under the burden of their hum,
drum duties, wondering all the while
why others are advanced and they are
left behind, but never for an instant
opening their eyes to the real fact that
they have taken hold of their business
with but half heart and no mind ex-
cept for what is just beyond the hours
need.
The crying curse of our land at the
present time is its vast army of lncom-
petents, and its lack of workers who
know their business from the ground
up. Eor every thoroughly informed
and competent salesman who has
sought employment at my hands there
have been hundred who were of
mediocre ability or downright inca
pacity. There are too many young
men who are content TO remain among
the "hewers Of wood and drawers OF
water," because they will not step be-
yond the beaten path to acquire thor
oughness.
Almost every working day in the
year am called upon to receive some
young man who comes to me highly
recommended for position in our
establishment. The letters of intro-
duclion these applicants bring me are
usually of stereotyped form, In which
some well-meaning pastor or person of
Influence is certain that ''young Mr..
Smith will prove great acquisition to
your business" or that "Mr. Brown,
with his superior intellect and many
accomplishments, will undoubtedly be
a valuable aid In some of the more re-
sponsible berths at your disposal" My
questions to such applicants are sonle-
what in this VEN:
"What can you do 2"
"Oh, l can do anything, Mr.. Ogden.
1 am an all-round man, and have filed
many responsible positions"
"Can you take charge of our silk de-
partment and buy to advantage in the
open market as well as sell in our
store ?'
"Well, no. do not understand the
details of ouying silks."
Scan you 60 down in our shipping
department and take charge uf the
general freighting of goods, or direct
our city deliveries 20
81 have been shipping clerk, but
am afraid couldn't quite take all the
responsibility of the shipping depart
menG."
"Perhaps you can assume the man
agement of our interior decorations
department and suggest to patrons
harmonious color schemes for floor,
walls and draperies 2"
"I'm afraid couldn't do that, sir.
can sell carpets and wall paper, but
/ don't understand interior decorat-
ing"
And it all ends in placing the name
of the applicant on our waiting list as
an ordinary salesman, If he is thought
to be worth employing at all. They
all know something about everything,
but only once in many cases do find
man who knows evel ything about
some one thing. The man who is the
square peg in the round hole is the
rule; the thorough master of trade
or branch of business Ia the rare ox-
ception that proves the rule. Educa-
ton, breeding, even high order of
intelligence, curiously enough, are no
guarantee that their possessor will
achieve success. Lacking the capacity
for doing his best with thoroughness
beyond all criticism, the most gifted
young man in the universe will fail
ard fall into the ranks of second-class
plodders.
In my experience have found that
in so small thing as penmanship the
average young business man is
astoundingly deficient. If / could gel
clerks who wrote uniformly rapit
and legible hand, could in the course
of a year save hundreds of dollars aris
inoy from, hlundars, dua tn caralaae xyr;t