1. Jill of all trades.
ANONYMOUS – A permutation on the traditional saying “Jack of all trades”, used to describe a man with many skills. Quoted in Liberation Management (Tom Peters; 1992)
2. Behind an able man there are always other able men.
ANONYMOUS. Chinese proverb.
3. When competencies are not developed at all levels, companies often get into trouble.
RON ASHKENAS (b. 1950) U.S. writer. The Boundaryless Organization (co-written with Dave Ulrich, Todd Jick, and Steve Kerr; 1995)
4. The leader…is rarely the brightest person in the group. Rather, they have extraordinary taste, which makes them more curators than creators. They are appreciators of talent and nurturers of talent and they have the ability to recognize valuable ideas.
WARREN BENNIS (b. 1925) U.S. educator and writer. Interview, Strategy + Business (July-September 1997)
5. The superior man is distressed by his want of ability.
CONFUCIUS (551-479 B.C.) Chinese philosopher, administrator, and writer, Analects (500? B.C.)
6. Ability and achievement are bona fides no one dares question, no matter how unconventional the man who presents them.
J.PAUL GETTY (1892-1976) U.S. entrepreneur, oil industry executive, and financier. How to Be Rich (1965)
7. Great ability develops and reveals itself increasingly with every new assignment.
BALTASAR GRACIAN (1601-58) Spanish writer and priest. The Oracle (1647)
8. I found that there were these incredibly great people at doing certain things, and you couldn’t replace one of these people with 50 average people. They could just do stuff that no number of average people could do.
STEVE JONES (b. 1955) U.S. entrepreneur, cofounder and C.E.O. of Apple Computer Company, and C.E.O. of Pixar,Quoted in “Steve’s Two Jobs”, Time (Michael Krantz; October 18,1999)
9. You must make use of people according to their abilities and realize that absolutely no one is perfect.
FRANCOISE D’AUBIGNE MAINTENON (1635 – 1719) French wife of king Louis XIV. Letter to the count of d’Aubigne(September 25, 1679)
10. From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
Karl Marx (1818 – 83) German political and economic philosopher. Critique of the Gotha Programme (1875)
11. Competence, like truth, beauty, and contact lenses, is in the eye of the beholder.
LAURENCE J. PETER (1919-90) Canadian academic and writer. The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong(co-written with Raymond Hull; 1969)