When hiring someone, pray for discernment

‘Give Your servant a discerning heart.’ 1 Kings 3:9 NIV

Dr John Maxwell writes: ‘Several years ago when I was speaking to a group of executives, someone asked me what principles I follow when hiring. “I have only one rule,” I explained. “I never do the hiring.” That got their attention. “And here’s why: I’m terrible at it.” I went on to explain my horrible track record…“Because I’m so optimistic and have a high belief in people, I’m unrealistic. It doesn’t matter what red flags come up during an interview with a candidate, I always think, I can help this person to improve and succeed. That’s not the right attitude for an interviewer. To be successful in this area you need people who are sceptical—the kind of individuals who wouldn’t even hire their own mothers. When I quit hiring, it took my organisation to a whole new level.” When I told this room full of executives that I didn’t do any hiring anymore, I could see their first reaction was negative. But as I explained it, I could see they appreciated that I knew my own weaknesses, and they respected my honesty. Few things are worse than someone who doesn’t know what he’s talking about, making things up as he goes along, and pretending he has expertise when he really doesn’t have a clue.’

If you have a poor track record in hiring people, delegate the job to those who are gifted at it. And if you must do it yourself, pray Solomon’s prayer: ‘Give Your servant a discerning heart to govern Your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?’

招聘之时，向神求智慧

“求你赐我智慧。” 列王记上3:9

约翰·麦克斯韦尔博士曾写道：“几年前，当我在一群高管面前演讲时，有人问我招聘时应遵循什么原则。‘我只有一个规则，’我解释道。‘那就是我不参与招聘。’这引起了他们的注意。‘我不参与招聘的原因是：我在这方面很差劲。’ 我继续解释我糟糕的招聘履历…‘因为我很乐观，对别人都有很高的信心，然而这是很不实际的。在面试的时候，不论被面试者存在这样或那样的问题，我都会觉得不重要，认为我可以帮助他进步并取得成功。然而对面试官来说，这不是一个正确的态度。要想在一个领域取得成功，你需要那些有怀疑精神的人——就是那种甚至不愿意雇自己妈妈的那种人。当我不再参与招聘的时候，我的公司就达到了一个全新的水平。’当我告诉满屋子的高管，说我不参与招聘的时候，我能看出他们的第一反应是负面的。但当我解释之后，我能看出他们在欣赏我，是因为我知道我自己的弱点，他们也尊重我的诚实。没有什么比一个人根本不知道自己在说什么更糟糕的了：明明是满口跑火车，却还假装自己很懂的样子。

如果你在招聘方面能力不行，那就把这项工作交给那些有天分的人去做。如果你必须要这样做，那就学习像所罗门那样祷告：“求你赐我智慧、可以判断你的民、能辨别是非．不然、谁能判断这众多的民呢。”