Can a Fish Climb a Tree?

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
–Albert Einstein

My wife, Sheryl, sent this quote to me yesterday. I think it perfectly captures why performance reviews, by themselves, aren’t enough. Or even close to enough.

Performance reviews without a look at what people are good at, especially with Jack Welch’s world’s worst “10 percent of people won’t make it” system, is a little like judging a fish by its ability to climb a tree. I’m a big believer in “do what you love and success will follow.” You can argue with my logic, but go ahead and take on Einstein.

Posted on February 26, 2008 by Frank Roche 
Filed Under Culture, Motivation

Comments

2 Responses to “Can a Fish Climb a Tree?”

  1. Kevin Bush on February 27th, 2008 12:02 pm

    If you employ a fish in a job that needs trees to be climbed, then you are asking for trouble in the first place.It is important to look at what people are good at, but you’d better make sure that what they are good at is what you need to deliver results.

  2. rick on February 29th, 2008 1:17 pm

    This is a fantasic quote. It encourages us to look at people as individuals. And for us to evaluate whether what we are doing is truly right for us.

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