Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-05-22
Who Will Fill These Big
Jobs ? @
I II
Nek York Nav lp-Wsptcd by big
BY Frederic J. Hsskin

| While this announcement has not YET
| appeared in the classified columns OF our
prominent dnilies, it Is an iden which IL
advanced at every large business conven-
| tion occurring here, and one that IL being
/ given wide circulation by rotary clubs.
| There is demand for reHourcefnl, enter,
| prising n,sa, ,ypable Of striking atield and
| the sky is the limit in salary.
The truth ia thnt big business II III q
pathetic plight. Never before has u
| suffered from such an acute shortage. of
| hieh-priced experts. Never before has
| the top of the American industrial ladder
been SO empty Of eligibes. The gap is SO
! large, in fact, that il is even predicted
| that our industries will have to stop cx-
T fpanding unless the brains and executive
ability needed TO develop them arc soine-
| how produced
| In its terror of such q calamity. Big
| business has recently approached the
| universities and offered To endow whole
sections of them If they will only turn out
| the kind of ability that is needed luat
what this ability Ia has been only vaguely
/ set down, but it is understood thnt various
| industries are collaborating IN the com
| piation of list of specifications Tor the
| types of men needed, and this Will nc
| distributed among educational instltu-
! tions.
LIKEABLE MEN.
| Heading this list, undoubtedly, will he
personality This is the principal require
/ ment in high-priced man, and most Of the
/ trouble lies in the fact that there IS not
/ nearly sufficient personality to go around.
/ The man of great personal magnetian,
with tho ability To make others like hitn
| and to exert an influence over them ~ the
man for whom American industry ls now
| in the market.
/ THE ability to handle men" said John
| ID Rockefeller some years ago, has be-
| ecme Just as much marketable COM
| modify as is sugar, and | will pay higher
| for it than anybody else in the world
| Well John D. was pioneer, but today
/ finds himself surrounded by competitors,
all bidding high for the same qualities
/ Another urgent requirement OF IN
| dustry is technical skill, supplemented by
| creative ability 1t wants technical men,
with ideas: men who arc capable of i'm
! proving upon old methods and OF de-
| velopng new processes.
| These are the principal needs, but sev-
/ eral others will doubtless he submitted to
| the universities which have ennounced
| themselves willing and anxious 10 CO.
| operate with industry in supplying the
/ kind Of training il wants This arrange
ment was DISCUSSED and agreed upon at
a recent conference held III Philadelphia
under the auspices Of the Technology
| Clubs Associated which was attended by
representatives of more than hundred
| corporations throughout the country and
of more than 300 educational institutions.
Never have college professors and IN
duetrial magnatcs been SO chItniny. IL
was nj this conference that DR. Hollis
Godfrey, president Of Drexol Institute,
| conceived the specification iden.
SPECIFICATIONS WRITTEN.
Educational waste has hcen going on
| for centuries, he declared, because there
never has been n definite statement or
| specification written by industry OF the
| specific knowledge required Tn meet ITS
| needs. The colleges and industry have
| been working along different lines. IL IS
| here proposed 20 carry out plan OF
| cooperation TO eliminate that waste by
| giving industry an opportunity TO state IT.
needs and the colleges an opportunity 70
| state their capacities TO meet these needs.
This challenge was eagerly accepted by
many of the corporation magnates pres
| ent who Immediately began pouring q
| mo1rnful account of their unohtalnaDle
| requirements into DR.. Godfrey's SYM
RdkUthAE tssA
First of all, . complained the president
| Of great shipbWlding corporation, the
| colleges do OF teach man how 20 sell
| himself Too often they turn out sliding
| rules rather than human beings. Their
graduates are highly trained techncians
| They know their own jobs, but they don
know how to handle men
tNotsa thing is done IN the colleges, for
example, to teach a man whom to slap on
| the back, whom TO take by the arm when
he meets him IN the corridor or walks
down the street with hum. | believe that
| this ability represents about % per cent oil
what is necessary Tor the success of an
executive. and knowledge of detail repre-
sents the other one per cent.
SELL YOURSELF
at all SINNERS down to the ability 10
sell one self 10 the head of the corporation
| TO yet a Job, and to the men working
under one, to hold it. The maintenance or
proncr relations with subordinates makes
| all the difference IN the world Ii one
| knows enough about human relationship
/ to make men trust him and belieye In him.
| they will work for and with him. THIS
personal cooperation may mean diff
| ference Of ten per cent III production and
/ this may turn losses into handsome
/ profits All the technical training IN the
/ world viii not do il without u knowledge
/ Of men and human values
/ In a word, what IS needed III the colleges
/ is course In human relationships, or
/ possibly, one on the etiquette OF back
/ slapping. In addition 10 knowing the
/ technique Of his profession, the college
! graduate Of the future must cultivate the
art Of g0od-lelous ship. In order 10 gain
/ his diploma IN this course, he must pass the
| personality test.
/ A brief glance at the great industrial
and commercial world which centers
+ about New York does seem 10 show that
! oil OF the top-notchers have well-developed
| this essential ability 70 handle men.
I Among our personal acquaintanees, for
/ example, is man who IS holding
/ rty-thousaud-doll job IN
/ large steel plant Before the war he was
an office executive earning three thousand
/ year While holding this position, il was
noticed by his colleagues that he did very
/ little work, and they used to sag HIM
! concerning the ease with which he drew
| pension" One day, one young man,
waxing more mirthful than usual over the
| situation succeeded in arousing the office
executive ! wrath.
THE POWER or DIRECTION.
'1If youswere a man Of any perception
whatsoever" he declared culdly, 'yoa
would realize that it requires great deal
more a,illty to make people work for you
than 10 do the work yourself
The potency Of this remark was proved