March 7; Humor Is Hard Work
MANAGEMENT BY THE BOOK:
365 Daily Bible Verse &
One-Minute Management Lessons For The Busy Faithful

March 7

Whatever your hand finds to do,

do it with all your might,

for in the realm of the dead, where you are going,

there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 9:10

Nailed it

Your Business Professor once worked as a carpenter in building maintenance hitting thumbs as often as nails. But before I could do any damage, I had to get interviewed.

Before the days of nail guns, a story is told of the carpenter who hired the workers for his team. He would hand the man (they were all men in those days) a half dozen number 10 nails.

The best carpenters didn’t just sit there with a hand full of iron in the interview. The good ones were ready to work and loved the tools and implements of their trade.

The best carpenters take hold of the nails in their left hands—that, is, their non-dominate hand, and would align the nails across their palms with points pointing to away from the thumb and forefinger. The nails were ready to be driven as the men talked.

Then the foreman would nod over to some 2 x 4s and scrap, piled up against a wall and tells the applicant to build a sawhorse. It would only take a few minutes.

***

Alan Murray, Deputy Managing Editor of the Wall Street Journal, writes,

When interviewing applicants, consider using mock assignments, job simulations and role-playing exercises to suss out candidates’ true talents. Simulations can give you a first-hand look at how well a candidate prioritizes or handles pressure.

As the man worked on the test-project, the manager worked too: he asked some questions about working with wood and watched.

The manager was looking for confidence and a sense of urgency. And something more. The foreman would also learned if the man would show up on the job-site on time and sober; if he would mess with the girl at the front office. And most important, if he would get along with the gang (also known as a work-team in coveralls).

***

Old carpenter jokes always got the craftsman hired. “I cut that board twice and it’s still too short…”

Good humor showed the joy of the job.

Ready wit nailed the interview.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.   Ecclesiastes 9:10

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