I want to carry that thought one step further. As I have mentioned earlier, the successful man is not the one who climbs over others but who is of most service to others. The higher you go, the more people you can serve, and to be practical about it, the more people you will have serving you. Discouraging, isn't it, to realize that if they are the average employees Myron Clark spoke about, 80 percent of them are not giving you their best abilities? Your own success is being slowed down by the inertia of employees who are living to punch the time clock on the way home to freedom. . This will not be the case if you have made a habit of recognizing the best that's in you, and the best that's in your associates. The best employer is the man with the best employees, and he doesn't get them until he learns how to recognize and appreciate a good employee when he has one. This invaluable education starts when you begin to look for the best qualities in your associates. Then when you get your promotion, you will be able to use their best qualities in support of your own, and the executive with that kind of support has at least twice the strength of the executive who stands alone.
Top management is gradually becoming aware of this fact. Recently the president of DuPont said, "Each individual should be given the opportunity to exploit his talents to the fullest, in the way best suited to his personality. The uncommon man may be far more valuable than the man who is obsessed with keeping his nose clean." Supporting this statement is one from Chairman C. F. Craig of A.T.&T. "If we want the exceptional qualities of men to emerge to the full, we must remove all limitations to growth. We must encourage each man to grow in his own way." To that I will add that if a supervisor is not able to recognize the best talents in his men, and find room for the development of those talents, he is no supervisor.
The day when each man's abilities will be recognized, and he will be guided to his success through his talents instead of being left to "make a living" by the sweat of his brow is fast approaching, but unless you want to wait for it, each man is still-and excitingly-in command of his own success. It is still up to you, but hard-headed, practical counselor though I must be; I must also admit that no man can stand alone. You need God.
I'm not going to go religious on you. All I'm going to say is that God is the source of power, and you need all the power you can get. It would be presumptuous of me, a layman, to tell you how to reach this source of power when the house of your own faith is just around the corner. Visit it. And read some of the inspiring books on the power of faith. If you don't know where to start, I would suggest any of the works of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale to put you on the right track. In revealing the power of God, Dr. Peale also reveals the power God gave man to work and achieve for His greater glory. That power is yours for the asking, anywhere, anytime, anyplace. No long distance toll charges and never a busy signal when you call on God.
My layman's sermon ends with this quote from a Detroit industrialist: "Time is my biggest problem. What with planning committees, sales meetings, directors' conferences, and advertising campaigns-not to mention what I go through in figuring out corporation taxes and the annual budget-I have to make every minute pay. So you wonder where I find the time for my work with the Business Men's Christian League on Wednesday night, and my work as deacon and usher of my church on Sunday? That's where I get the strength to make the rest of my work pay. Believe me, your work for God not only pays, but it puts the pay- in the work you do professionally."
