A very great leader of men, General George C. Marshall, chief of staff of the U.S. Army during World War II, had the most remarkable record of putting people into the right place at the right time. He appointed something like six hundred people to positions as general officer, division commander, and so on, almost without a dud. And not one of these people had ever commanded troops before. A discussion would come up, and Marshall’s aides would say, “Colonel So-and-So is the best trainer of people we have, but he has never gotten along with his boss. If he has to testify before Congress, he’ll be a disaster. He is so rude.” Marshall would then ask, “What is the assignment? To train a division? If he is first-rate as a trainer, put him in. The rest is my job.” As a result, he created the largest army the world had ever seen, thirteen million people, in the shortest possible time, with very few mistakes. The lesson is to focus on strengths.

ACTION POINT: Know the strengths of each person you hire.

Managing the Non-Profit Organization