I recently came across this management principle of Dee Hock, the founder and former CEO of the VISA credit card association:

“Hire and promote first on the basis of integrity; second, motivation; third, capacity; fourth, understanding; fifth, knowledge; and last and least, experience. Without integrity, motivation is dangerous; without motivation, capacity is impotent; without capacity, understanding is limited; without understanding, knowledge is meaningless; without knowledge, experience is blind. Experience is easy to provide and quickly put to good use by people with all the other qualities.”

I found this view refreshing, it contradicts a lot of ‘convensional wisdom’ with regards to the finding and retaining talented individuals.  I’ve often felt that too much value is placed on knowledge and experience, and too little on the character of the person, and ensuring that he or she would fit into the culture of the organisation …