Evening star., 1921-04-05

| t1atfve and by some curious process
OF reasoning reach the conclusion that
the man or woman who starts some
thing Is deserving of credit. no mat
or foolish. The true meaning of ini-
tiative, as valuable quality in
| business man or business woman. IS to
be found in the second def1nition-the
! power ability and disposition to take
the lead. Moreover it should be en-
phasized that the ability to take the
lead without the disposition, or the
disposition to take the lead. without
the ability to do SO, is not the kind of
initiative that is of value in busi-
| ness.
| Quality Brought to Fore.
| usually initiative is a quality which
Is promptly brought to the fore in
discussing a business mans qualifica-
tions. 1t may be wondered. therefore,
why we have delayed considering this
quality until now-why it has not
been discussed earlier in this series of
| articles. The reason why we have
| placed it SO far down on the list is
| not because we do not have full ap-
probation of it's Importance. but be
| cause the experiments we have been
making at ouE~plant to determine the
! fundamental weaknesses which keep
many salaried employees in the busi-
ness rut have convinced us that man
or woman cannot show intelligent ini-
t!atlVe until he or she has developed
the qualities which we have previous
i ly discussed
| In other words, we have first taken
up the subjects of concentration.
anoaroughness: na faculty of analysis
cause we believe that these are the
TOUR basic mental qualities on which
are founded all of the other mental
quallties-including initiative-nec-
esary for success in the business
world.
Initiative belongs to men who know
what to do. Obviously if you know
"hat to do you are going to do it.
|provlded you possess the authority.
and the moral courage to act with
seem to justify it, Therefore if you
deVelop G) faculty of analysis, and
tOIogIc of mental processes, you
VIII ordinarily know what to do, and
tms, when coupled with a reasonable
amount Of Imagination and moral
courage practically insures that you
Will possess initiative.
Capacity for Decision.
Knowing what to do is sometimes
called "The capacity for decision" No
one can become a successful execu-
tive without it, and it is a quality
which cannot be counterfeited al
though many attempt to do So
snap judgment. intuitive judgment,
| and whatever else the counterfeits
may be called. are nothing but guess
work, and, as 1 have already point
work in business. Whenever you
make decision there should be an
airtight. holeproof reason for it. The
ability to analyze and interpret facts
quickly is not a gift: it is the result
| OF practice. You must learn to con-
fyna
habit of digging down to the roots
of problem without regard to OBJ
| stacles.
Do not attempt to cultivate speed.
| II you are thorough, and think logi-
ca1ly. self-confidence. courage and the
requisite degree of speed will be
developed without conscious cultiva-
| ton.
Please remember that you do not
! need to hold an important executive
! position in order to develop the ca
pacity for decision-which is the
greater part of initiative. No matter
how relatively unimportant the sub
| ject of your decision may seem. try
| to make the decision an intelligent
and comprehensive one.
When it is your duty to make
recommendation to superior pre-
pare your recommendation with the
same care and thoroughness you
| would use II you were wholly re-
low these rules consistently and you
are likely to find your mind expand
ing to a capacity for deciding more
important problems.
Edison Values Vision.
I have said that certain amount
Of imagination must be combined
with the capacity for decision in or
der to produce the .kind Of initiative
that is useful in business Thomas
A. Edison, in fact. values Imagination
above all other purely mental quail
ties, but he does not mean the kind
of Imagination which /weaves ro-
mances or devises impracticable
schemes. The brand of Imagination
, with which we are concerned is wi
sion"-an orderly process of reason
ing based on facts. and projecting
/