Si'pti-iiilH-r ^.-i, 1921 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



17 



Trained Leadership 



By Lester G. Herbert 



Till' i;iT:it lUTil of the wcnM tinhiy is for stroiit;. capabU', traiin'il 

 leadership. 



Then' are |ileiity of iiiru for llie plaees in life which are of rela- 

 tively less iiiiportailee, but when an exeeiitive is needed who is 

 thoroughly prepared, the task of finding him is not always easy. 

 Til ere is a reason. 



A f;rcat many people lack the o[iport unity .-ind otlu'rs laek the 

 disposition to carry on and on until they ha\c perfecteil them 

 selves in their chosen line whatever it may be. 



A singer with a rarel.v l)eautiful voice recently presented him 

 self to one of the largest theatrical managers on the Pacific Coast. 

 This man heard the singer with close attention, and the applicant 

 for a contract was satisfied that he had done well, and had made an 

 impression, therefore he was greatly surprised when the man- 

 ager said to him earnestly: 



"My friend, go back to your teachers and coaches and finish 

 your work. This country is already full to overflowing with peo- 

 ple who have partly-trained voices. If you aspire to leadership yon 

 must finish the job, and because so few stick their training out, 



w:i\ed adieu, .ind gone on. What is there to it J What do somi' 

 men possess that others lack.' 



Let us look the situation s(|uarely in the face. It is said that 

 the average individual is not more than from 20 to HO percent 

 illicient. The great ma.iority pf people who remain in the ranks are 

 probably not more than 1^ to \'i percent efficient. They use 

 muscular strength, pcrhajis, but do not coujile it with vision and 

 mind stuff; or they are satisfied with the everlasting execution of 

 detail under supervision; or they content themselves with blind- 

 .illey .jobs. 



The men who is from 20 to 30 percent efficient may be no better 

 endowed by Nature than the man he directs — but he is trained in 

 a measure at least to use a certain percent.-ige of his latent pow- 

 ers. Latent energy is that which exists and can, under the right 

 management, be brought into active oper.ition. The leader must 

 learn to use his latent powers and to the degree in which he learns 

 to use them, will he be a success. 



It w.is this capacity for preparation — for the use of latent pow^- 

 ers which made Lincoln, Roosevelt, Riis, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, 



The writer of this article gives all of us who aspire to bigger things in our chosen work something to 

 ponder over. He says: "The moment that we stop growing or reaching up and out, that moment we stop 

 climbing, but someone else, some other executive, or some other firm, may not be taking things as easy as we 

 are, and st) there is always danger in such a case that the story of the hare and the tortoise will be repeated." 



— The Editor. 



leadership will offer you great rewards once you are prepared to 

 head the jiroceasion. 



"(io to theater after theater today and you will be astonished 

 to see and to hear men and women on the stage with beautiful 

 voices and undoubted talent who are filling minor positions. The 

 reason is that they have not pushed on to the point of perfecting 

 their training. The}' arc not prepared. And so their natural cap- 

 ital of ability avails them comparatively little. ' ' 



The same holds true whether one expects success in the giving 

 of public entertainments, in managing a big lumber business, or 

 in handling the executive details of distribution. One of the great- 

 est foes to progress in this world is contentment with our own 

 efforts, or a disposition to say, "I'll call it a day's work;" or 

 "I've done as much as is necessary — and then some;" or to feel 

 that the plane already reached is the ultimate goal. 



The moment that we stop growing or reaching up and out, that 

 moment we stop climbing, but someone else, some other executive 

 or some other firm may not be taking things as easy as we are, and 

 so there is always danger in such a case that the story of the hare 

 and the tortoise will be repeated. 



Time is mighty imi)ortant, for the average man has only a limited 

 number of producing years. Action is important, for results never 

 come alone through wishing. Results depend upon desire, which is 

 intense wishing, j)lus intelligent action, plus persistence. 



Yet most of us know people who have initiative, energy, ami 

 are reasonably frugal in the use of time who never seem to climb 

 beyond a certain altitude. There seems to be some stoppage some 

 where which prevents further advance. After .-i time that indi 

 vidual begins to take it for granted that he has gone the limit ami 

 cannot expect to jirogrcss farther. It is human and natural to 

 find excuses and to be able to explain satisfactorily to oneself at 

 least, the reason why. 



But .iust what is the reason. Others have overcome greater ob- 

 stacles and greater handicaps. Otln'rs have come to this point. 



Kaph.iel, Angelo, Corot, Watt, Morse, Fulton, Edison, Columbus, 

 Livingston, Newton, Darwin, Cicero, Gladstone, Emerson, ami 

 hundreds of others leaders of outstanding character. They simply 

 took stock of themselves, and after inventorying their abilities, 

 practically said in substance: 



"Here is my capital. Unless I use it, if will not be of much 

 value. To use it I must concentrate and study and work. I must 

 exercise self-restraint. I must push forward and sacrifice, if need 

 be, that my training be more nearly perfected: T must be pre- 

 pared. ' ' 



And because they developed their latent powers it was the mo.st 

 natur;d thing in the world that they should become more eliicient, 

 more far-sighted, more skilled, than the average individual satis- 

 fied with using from 20 to 30 percent of his possibilities. 



"The kingdom of God lies within." "Know thyself," is as 

 wise advice today as ever it was. Perfect symmetry of life and 

 character must stand back of all permanent results, and perma- 

 nent results, fine and splendid, and of dazzling magnitude are pos- 

 sible when we are prepared for leadership through the use of the 

 latent powers which The Creator of the universe has given us. 



Foreign Lumber Trade Outlook 



The high grade of American lumber and the reputation it has 

 established abroad assures its continued poi)ularity in the world's 

 markets and pessimistic reports to the contrary are unwarr;inted. 

 says Axel H. Oxholm, chief of the Commerce Department's new 

 Lumber Division, in his first report entitled ' ' Present Conditions and 

 Future Outlook of the Anu-rican Lumber Industry and Trade,'" to be 

 published shortly. 



The lumber export trade of the United States during the last fiscal 

 year shows a much smaller decrease than that of any other country. 

 Stocks of high-grade American lumber abroad are not unusually hea\7- 

 aud prices for the American product have not fallen in comparison 

 with North European and Canadian prices, particularly in the more 

 coniinon <jrades. the report says. 



