Last night when Heejin and I were leaving the office near 7 PM, Erin, Diandra and Heidi were still toiling away. This is not unusual in our world, as we have no control over when and how much business comes in and we have to maintain service levels. And Mondays are our busiest days, with many team members often working until 8 or later.
What makes it really impressive is that they often start as early as 7, and that they often work straight through the day with amazing displays of pure “grit.”
I bring this up b/c the WSJ had a great review today of Angela Duckworth’s book – Grit: http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-virtue-of-hard-things-1462313591
I often mention how we focus on three things when we hire: (1) DISC/Personality Tests; (2) Academic Skill; and (3) Congeniality.
But, we also need tremendous grit b/c working at JVM can be so demanding. People with grit finish what they start, and they persevere over time with passion and consistency.
I had a friend who took up golf with an almost insane passion. He plunged into it, playing almost every day until he both got good and burned out. That is not grit b/c there was no consistency over time.
The author uses examples of Will Smith who persevered relentlessly until he succeeded as an actor, and the author John Irving (Garp, Cider House Rules) who succeeded despite having dyslexia and being a horrible student.
The author also points out how there is little correlation between ability and grit. Students with high SAT scores in fact show less grit. I found that interesting b/c we do not focus on SAT scores at JVM.
There is one caveat – I know many people who focus too much on grit (tomorrow’s Comments).
Jay Voorhees
Founder/Broker | JVM Lending
(855) 855-4491 | DRE# 01524255, NMLS# 335646
