Saturday, January 8, 2011

Ambition Doesn't Lead To Competency

I suppose it is one of those unfortunate side effects of egalitarianism; since we aren't allowed to distinguish between people based on actual skill, we substitute drive. Somebody really wants the job, so they go get whatever credentials they need, act really perky in the interview, get the job...

... and are incompetent.

Practice does not make perfect, especially if what you've been practicing isn't exactly what you've been practicing for. Nor will the massive education bubble in this country give scarecrows brains. In many cases, ambition may indicate a good reason for someone not to get the job- as our lovely politicians prove over and over. We'd likely be better off appointing folk who find micromanaging people distasteful.

Here is our condition- everybody wants to be captain of the ship, but nobody wants to stop it from sinking. I'm surprised at how many captains can come and go, and how far down the ship can go, but one of these days, there just won't be any ship anymore.

Hah, as I wrote that I had an image of yet one more fool hip deep in water, astride the very top mast of an ancient hulk, proclaiming whatever load of tripe that came out of the last meeting he had with his like minded bureaucrats. Troubling how many different institutions one can apply such an image to.

Just to get down to the remedy- one does not need drive to be competent, and if society is permitted to operate freely, people could figure out how to find and hire competent people without relying on such a false signal. HR departments rely on people applying and on credentialism because companies don't want to get sued. Under current conditions it apparently costs less to fumble through several incompetents in a position than expose oneself to a lawsuit.

Division of labor is cooperative venture which would make us all better off.

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