Aug
5
By: Chinese Proverb
Natural ability without education has more often raised a man to glory and virtue than education without natural ability.
Jul
31
By: Chinese Proverb
Behind an able man, there are always other able men.
Jul
28
By: Edmund Burke
Men who undertake considerable things, even in a regular way, ought to give us ground to presume ability.
Jul
27
By: Edmund Burke
Is it in destroying and pulling down that skill is displayed? The shallowest understanding, the rudest hand, is more than equal to the task.
Perhaps, some of us may find it odd to look for advice from a time long past and often perceived as irrelevant to today’s challenges in the business world.
The Earl of Chesterfield, one of the leading noblemen of 18th century England, wrote hundreds of letters advising his son on many different issues, including matters of business.
London
May 17, 1750
My Dear Friend:
Your apprenticeship is near out, and you are soon to set up for yourself; that approaching moment is a critical one for you, and an anxious one for me. A tradesman who would succeed in his way, must begin by establishing a character of integrity and good manners: without the former, nobody will go to his shop at all; without the latter, nobody will go there twice. This rule does not exclude the fair arts of trade. He may sell his goods at the best price he can, within certain bounds. He may avail himself of the humour, the whims, and the fantastical tastes of his customers; but what he warrants to be good must be really so, what he seriously asserts must be true, or first fraudulent profits will soon end in a bankruptcy. It is the same in higher life, and in the great business of the world. A man who does not solidly establish, and really deserve, a character of truth, probity, good manners, and good morals, at his first setting out in the world, may impose, and shine like a meteor for a very short time, but will very soon vanish, and be extinguished with contempt. People easily pardon, in young men, the common irregularities of the senses; but they do not forgive the least vice of the heart. The heart never grows better by age; I fear rather worse; always harder. A young liar will be an old one; and a young knave, will only be a greater knave as he grows older. But should a bad young heart, accompanied with a good head (which by the way very seldom is the case) really reform in a more advanced age, from a consciousness of its folly, as well as of its guilt; such a conversion would only be thought prudential and political, but never sincere. But the possession of all the moral virtues, in a actu primo, as the logicians call it, is not sufficient; you must have them in actu secundo too; nay, that is not sufficient neither, you must have the reputation of them also. Your character in the world must be built upon that solid foundation, or it will soon fall, and upon your own head. You cannot, therefore, be too careful, too nice, too scrupulous, in establishing this character at first, upon which your whole depends. Let no conversation, no example, no fashion, no bon mat, no silly desire of seeming to be above what most knaves and many fools call prejudices, ever to tempt to avow, excuse, extenuate, or laugh at the least breach of morality; but show upon all occasions, and take all occasions to show, a detestation and abhorrence of it. There, though young, you ought to be strict; and there only, while young, it becomes you to be strict and severe. But there too, spare the persons, while you lash the crimes. All this relates, as you easily judge, to the vices of the heart, such as lying, fraud, envy, malice, detraction, etc., and I do not extend it to the frailties of youth, flowing from high spirits and warm blood. It would ill become you, at your age, to declaim against them, and sententiously censure a gallantry, an accidental excess of the table, a frolic, and inadvertency; no, keep as free from them yourself as you can: but say nothing against them in others. They certainly mend by time, often by reason; and a man’s worldy character is not affected by them, provided it be pure in all other respects.
To come now to a point of much less, but yet of very great consequence at your first setting out. Be extremely upon your guard against vanity, the common failing of inexperienced youth; but particularly against the kind of vanity that dubs a man a coxcomb; a character which, once acquired, is more indelible than that of the priesthood. It is not to be imagined by how many different ways vanity defeats its own purposes. One man decides peremptorily upon every subject, betrays his ignorance among women; he hints at the encouragement he has received from those of the most distinguished rank and beauty, and intimates a particular connection with some one; if it is true, it is ungenerous; if false, it is infamous; but in either case he destroys the reputation he wants to get. Some flatter their vanity by little extraneous objects, which have not the least relation to themselves; such as being descended from, related to, or acquainted with people of distinguished merit, and eminent characters. They talk perpetually of their grandfather such-a-one, their uncle such-a-one, and their intimate friend Mr. Such-a-one, with whom, possibly, they are hardly acquainted. But admitting it all to be as they would have it, what then? Have they the more merit for these accidents? Certainly not. On the contrary, their taking up adventitious, proves their want of intrinsic merit; a rich man never borrows. Take this rule for granted, as a never-failing one–that you must never seem to affect the character in which you have a mind to shine. Modesty is the only sure bait when you angle for praise. The affectation of courage will make even a brave man pass only for a bully; as the affectation of wit will make a man of parts pass for a coxcomb. By this modesty, I do not mean timidity and awkward bashfulness. On the contrary, be inwardly firm and steady, know your own value. Whatever real merit you have, other people will discover; and people always magnify their own discoveries, as they lessen those of others.
For God’s sake revolve all these things seriously in your thoughts, before you launch out alone inoto the ocean of Paris. Recollect the observations that you have yourself made upon mankind, compare and connect them with you instructions, and then act systematically and consequentially from them; not au jouir la journee. Lay your little plan now, which you will hereafter extend and improve by your own observations, and by the advice of those who can never mean to mislead you: I mean Mr. Harte and myself.
As far as the relevance of this letter to today’s business industry, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Jul
24
Is it in destroying and pulling down that skill is displayed? The shallowest understanding, the rudest hand, is more than equal to the task.
Jul
22
Ability has nothing to do with opportunity.
Jul
21
Perhaps, some of us may find it odd to look for advice from a time long past and often perceived as irrelevant to today’s challenges in the business world.
Residents in a western Massachusetts community decided in the 1780s to name their new town after Benjamin Franklin and to build a steeple in his honor. They asked him to send a bell to complement their meeting-house spire. Franklin, however, refused the request. Saying that sense was preferable over sound, he asked Dr. Price to purchase several books to start a library in Franklin.
According to The Forbes Book of Great Business Letters: “Sense being preferable to sound”–Benjamin Franklin to Dr. Price:
A self-made businessman of immense wealth, Benjamin Franklin set the standard for the American business ethic. Preaching the importance of hard work, prudence, and honesty, Franklin equated values of living well with being successful. He made his money as a printer and newspaper publisher, but he made his reputation as a philosopher, politician, diplomat, and scientist. These careers, too, were marked by the principles of his business ehtic, as reflected in the following letters in which he dispenses advice still relevant today.
Passy, March 18, 1785
My Dear Friend:
My nephew, Mr. Williams, will have the honour of delivering you this line. It is to request from you a list of a few good books to the value of about twenty-five pounds, such as are the most proper to inculcate principles of sound religion and just government. A new town in the State of Massachusetts having done me the honour of naming itself after me, and proposing to build a steeple to their meeting-house if I would give them a bell, I have advised the sparing themselves the expense of a steeple at present, and that they would accept of books instead of a bell, sense being preferable to sound. These are therefore intended as the commencement of a little parochial library for the use of a society of intelligence, respectable farmers such as our country people generally consist of. Besides your ouwn works, I would only mention, on the recommendation of my sister, Stennet’s Discourses on Personal Religion, which may be one book of the number, if you know it and approve it.
With the highest esteem and respect, I am ever, my dear friend, yours most affectionately….
Benjamin Franklin
Response from the present: Once again, Benjamin Franklin shows no inhibitions about sticking to those principles which he holds dear, even in spite of his own personal benefit. Where, pray tell, is this tone or action of great evidence in today’s business communications? How often do we actually go there?
It will be of no surprise to me to determine that the large majority of today’s business minded will choose to avoid offering so straight forward a response, even if it is attached to a friendly gesture.
Making every customer or individual your business interacts with just as important as your most important will ensure a level of customer service rivaled by no other!
Your Daily Business Tip
Ability
Reference: The Forbes Book of Business Quotations
By: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
Because your own strength is unequal to the task, do not assume that it is beyond the powers of man; but if anything is within the powers and province of man, believe that it is within your own compass also.
Say that you’re a business man in need of some good advice, where would you start looking for your answers? Perhaps, some of us may find it odd to look for advice from a time long past and often perceived as irrelevant to today’s challenges in the business world.
However, is there still some static familiarities when comparing business techniques of old to today’s strategies? Let’s take a look at Benjamin Franklin’s ideas on writing a good letter. Benjamin Franklin wrote this letter in response to an ambiguous letter from a person who identified himself as Lith offering to help the American colonies in their war for independence.
According to The Forbes Book of Great Business Letters
A self-made businessman of immense wealth, Benjamin Franklin set the standard for the American business ethic. Preaching the importance of hard work, prudence, and honesty, Franklin equated values of living well with being successful. He made his money as a printer and newspaper publisher, but he made his reputation as a philosopher, politician, diplomat, and scientist. These careers, too, were marked by the principles of his business ehtic, as reflected in the following letters in which he dispenses advice still relevant today.
Passy near Paris, April 6, 1777
Sir,
I have just been honoured with a Letter from you, dated the 26th past, in which you express your self as astonished, and appear to be angry that you have no Answer to a Letter you wrote me of the 11th of December, which you are sure was delivered to me.
In Exculpation of my self, I assure you that I never receiv’d any letter from you of that date. And indeed being then but 4 Days landed at Nantes, I think you could scarce have heard so soon of my being in Europe.
But I receiv’d one from you on the 8th of January, which I own I did not answer. It may displease you if I give you the Reason; but as it may be of use to you in your future Correspondences, I will hazard that for a Gentleman to whom I feel myself oblig’d, as an American, on Account of his Good Will to our Cause.
Whoever writes to a Stranger should observe 3 Points; 1. That what he proposes be paracticable. 2. His Propositions should be made in explicit Terms so as to be easily understood. 3. What he desires should be in itself reasonable. Hereby he will give a favourable Impression of his Understanding, and create a Desire of further Acquaintence.
Now it happen’d that you were negligent in all these Points: for first you desired to have Means procur’d for you of taking a Voyage to America “avec Surete”; which is not possible, as the Dangers of the Sea subsist always, and at present there is the additional Danger of being taken by the English. Then you desire that this may be “sans trop grandes Depenses,” which is not intelligible enough to be answer’d, because not knowing you Ability of bearing Expences, one cannot judge what may be trop grandes. Lastly you desire Letters of Address to the Congress and to General Washington; which it is not reasonable to ask of one who knows no more of you than that your name is Lith, and that you live at Bayreuth.
In your last, you also express yourself in vague Terms when you desire to be inform’d whether you may expect “d’etre recu d’une maniere convenable” in our Troops? As it is impossible to know what your Ideas are of the maniere convenable, how can one answer this? And then you demand whether I will support you by my Authority in giving you Letters of Recommendation? I doubt not your being a Man of Merit, and knowing it yourself, you may forget that it is not known to every body; but reflect a Moment, Sir, and you will be convinc’d that if I were to practice giving Letters of Recommendation to persons of whose Character I knew no more than I do of yours, my Recommendations would soon be of no Authority at all.
I thank you however for your kind Desire of being Serviceable to my Countrymen: And I wish in return that I could be of Service to you in the Scheme you have form’d of going to America. But numbers of experience’d Officers here have offer’d to go over and join our Army, and I could give them no Encouragement, because I have no Orders for that purpose, and I know it extremely difficult ot place them when they come there. I cannot but think therefore, that it is best for you not to make so long, so expensive, and so hazardous a Voyage, but to take the Advice of your Friends, and stay in Fanconia. I have the honour ot be Sir,….
Benjamin Franklin
Karen ‘Lioness’ Allen’s Response from the present: Are we this precise and upfront in our business correspondence today? Do we have the time to ensure that a difficult topic or tone is carefully contructed with the recipient in mind? Is every response in every correspondence from our business perceived as equally important, or do we tend to respond according to the level of importance?
Making every customer or individual your business interacts with just as important as your most important will ensure a level of customer service rivaled by no other!