You don't hire for skills, you hire for attitude. You can always teach skills.
Herb KelleherRead
We will hire someone with less experience, less education, and less expertise, than someone who has more of those things and has a rotten attitude. Because we can train people. We can teach people how to lead. We can teach people how to provide customer service. But we can't change their DNA.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Attitude is more important than experience or education when hiring.
This quote emphasizes the significance of a positive attitude in the workplace, suggesting that it outweighs the conventional metrics of experience, education, and expertise. Herb Kelleher argues that while skills can be taught and developed, a lack of a good attitude is inherent and cannot be changed, making it essential to prioritize candidates with the right mindset over those who may have more qualifications but a negative demeanor.
Themes
AttitudeHiringLeadershipTrainingCustomer Service
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a job interview to stress the importance of mindset.
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If the employees come first, then they're happy. A motivated employee treats the customer well. The customer is happy so they keep coming back, which pleases the shareholders. It's not one of the enduring green mysteries of all time, it is just the way it works.
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