Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-08-12

KNOW tnat Sne was gOou eSech- :
t1ve but no administrator / asked the
man who had given this verdict what, to
mis- mind, was the difference.
WELL" said he, ian administrator
- one who finds the right people to
do his errands; an executive does his
swn errands.''
No doubt the Finding right people"
b do anything is a power that can be
usual requirement. for n good adminis-
traitor can always command large sal
ary. He is literally worth his weight
In gold.
ATELY in the efficiency courses
- there has been great stress laid on
physical classification of workers. You
are taught to tell by the shape Of an
applicant head. or the set Of his ears.
or the hang of his body, whether you
will place him at an accountants desl:
or behind counter, or in the invoice
department.
There was for many years In the ON
ployncnt bureau Of big retail store
OF this town compact. silent, rather
expressionIess man. before whose cold
and briefly apprnising eye all RI" appi-
cants for employment in Ia" big huNl.
ness passed. lie also sent those already
placed in the business uu higher or
down lower ! was told one" that H"
very rarely made mistake in man
or boy. and practically never in 4 Wou-
an. although be seemed aS rrm"'" ANA
composed as an Indian chief, and gave
no impression of interest. or urprovH! or
disapproval. He doubtless had some
short cut. learned by long experience,
TO his quick and wordleN> Judgments,
and It must have been based, for the
most part, on physical traits IN those
who passed before him. for lie did not
invite conversation.
I know physician whose duty it is
to pass upon thousands of patients who
enter a great city hospital His word
keeps them under longer observation,
or dismisses them as being well. or sends
them on to one department or another
for specific treatment, o. confines them
in the chronic wards aS iNCurahle. To
al onloOker his Judgments SOON myS-
tsriously arbitrary But in reality they
are based upon all sorts Of srmptOma'iC
phenomena that his quick eye detects.
and it has become as simple for him to
Judge by them "a it j. easy for one Of
Us TO tell which way the wind blows by
the direction the trees sway back and
forth.
T SUPPOSE no one is really a leader
= who is not an administrator. but
there are plenty Of very good executives
who are poor leaders. Yet | am COntIn-
ually hearing surprised Murmur" against
executives who cannot lead. as though
being able 10 do a thing yourself implied
your fitness for getting 1t done for YOU.
Very unimaginative persons can be
executives, and not ConspiruuuSIy clever
persons can be good executives. but 1t
takes Imagination and CI"vprue>s "a well
as memory to choose the right persons
for the right jobs You may hid" both
Imagination and clevcrncS> under Il very
wooden exterior, as the man in tie ON
ployment bureau did. or you nay have
an enthusiastic eagernesS in your ap-
proach to your fellow beings or toward
their approach to you. as Roosevelt
had, but suppose to got the best work
out of the best men for an eut"rpr!s"
one has to possess q spns!t!vcly trained
perception, cool and a.crt, unbiased yet
Quick in decision.
One hears great deal about that
power in Napoleon and in Frederick the
Great. There are discussions as to
how much Washington possessed, or
Lincoln. 1t is said that Queen Eliza
beth had It TO marked degree, the
Stuart Kings very little and Victoria
to surprising extent, in spit" Of her
commonplace taste. Roosevelt certainly
knew how to choose men Wilson, one
Is assured, did not. Looking at our
own circle. even at ourselves, We frankly
discuss our powers in that direction.
Are we well served by our employees? q?
Are We surrounded by the right persons
for our life purposes: Every Wife asks
herself II she has married IA" right
man after all, for his sake as well as
for her own. Any one looking about his
social set wonders If be has really found
his right place among tn" men and
women who share his pleasures, or at
least his leisure and certainly every
soul backing n vital enterprise j. bound
to demand of himself whether l." har
had the sense to choose the fellow back
ers who vii! help to put II over,
VlTITH all this accent laid in both
w public and private life on the i'm
portanCe of ones choice Of employees or
disciples or friends, 1t has always
seemed ouu 10 me tNht more interest
was not expressed by the preachers Of
sermons on our Lord 5 choice If the
men and women who w"r" 70 be the
messengers of Ills great idea 70 the
world
And not only His choice, but His
way of choosing.
Over and over again the Doop'a who
teach us our religion speak of the ,we,yo
apostles, for instance, as haphuZard
group of poor men, mostly fishermen.
They calmly read the very uhi" letters
and teachings Of these men, they quote
their stories as clasSics Of story-trlIlng.
they use as texts their great saying, and
they take their Interpretation Of their
Masters teaching as the rule Of life.
Yet with great UnnnimIty they give the
Impression that the Master and Tcuchor
Of these apostles picked them somewhat
at random from among the crowd, aJo.t
Him more with an eye to their need