The Cut of His Jib

The Business Decision Making Curve:

In finance we studied the Sharp-Markowitz efficiency curve. The trade-off between risk and return. (Mayonnaise jar, no risk, no return. The fast horse, high risk, high return.)

There seems to be an unspoken curve in business. It is not only a cost curve.

Do we train the guy we've got, hoping he'll be a good manager, or do we hire a good manager who knows little about our operation?

Do we pay for safety upgrades on a hazzard with little potential for disaster, or do we take a chance and simply pay out on the accident?

Do we hire someone safe, with credentials and show little concern for his potential, or do we hire someone with a great potential (or track record) and assume the risks of hiring someone without the bursars stamp on his resume showing he paid his library fines?

The business trade-off seems to be falling on the side of safety the past 30 to 40 years.

When was the last time you ever heard anyone say, "I hired him because I like the cut of his jib?"


Slim


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