Wisdom from the memorable what’s his name

A business leader in Hong Kong (I forgot his name), involved in a franchise operation, was asked what qualities he looks for in prospective franchisees. The boss named two qualities: (1) attitude, and (2) aptitude.

His response was so succinct, so tight, that I figured it was worth pondering.

Attitude, he said, is the willingness to learn. Aptitude, he said, is the capacity to learn, and is based on intelligence.

Well, you sure can’t dispute that.

Boiling this wisdom down into a practical stew, however, may not be such an elegant process. Hiring people, or choosing business associates, is always a dicey proposition. And how exactly can you measure attitude, and how can you index aptitude?

At this point we shrug our shoulders and depend on that most subjective of all processes, the job interview. You talk to someone. Size him (or her) up. Is she a slack-jawed gum chewer without the innate intelligence to lift her feet when she walks? Perfect–an obvious candidate for a waitress job at most of our restaurants. Here’s you work visa, baby, and we’ll see you at the remittance office.

Gee, and we wonder why Asian tourists who are used to some modicum of service are overflying Saipan in favor of Guam.

In some cases, though, a manager might not be in the market for a slack-jawed shuffle-footed waitress. Hard to imagine, I know, but hang with me for the sake of discussion.

Now the plot thickens. Attitude is still largely a subjective call and you need some face time for that. But as far as aptitude, well, I can’t think of many cases where a brief, written quiz on some elementary facts would hurt.

There is at least one such company out here that issues such a test, and it always struck me as a profoundly sensible thing to do. You can size up in three minutes–coldly and objectively–the rough mental capacity of who you’re dealing with. This might not be a perfect gauge of aptitude, but it’s far more effective than a mere verbal bull session. It’s quicker, too.

I’ve never been convinced that hiring the dumbest guy you can find for the cheapest you can pay is such a hot idea. In some venues, I’m sure it works. In others, though, particularly where customer service is an important issue, it strikes me a financial suicide. When the cat’s away the mice will play, and a lot of business owners here have no idea what under-motivated and slow-witted staff members will do when away from the direct gaze of proprietary interest. If you think that everyone feels a compulsion to lift a finger to help a customer if the boss isn’t there, you haven’t been in Saipan very long.

So, count me in on this whole attitude/aptitude idea. It strikes me a succinct way to remember a couple of key points that managers might want to ponder.

Stephens is an economist with Stephens Corporation, a professional organization in the NMI. His column appears three times a week: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Mr. Stephens can be contacted via the following e-mail address: ed4Saipan@yahoo.com.