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Can a Fish Climb a Tree?
Feb 26Everybody 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.
About the Author
Frank Roche
Frank started IFRACTAL over 7 years ago with Sarah Chambers. Together, they've created HR communications and HR software for some of the world's leading companies. Frank is also studying Flamenco guitar and origami.
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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.
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.