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Message for November ‘06

THE HUNT FOR TALENT

In whatever walk of life one is engaged in, the topic is the same – the search for Talent, the many new ways of running it to ground, and of course, pursuing the age-old argument whether it is nature or nurture that brings forth this resource.

In the economy, as we move towards greater service-orientation, commercially speaking, Talent takes on a much greater weightage than any of the other (natural) resources. In fact Japan proved many decades ago, that enterprise and talent combined could move a nation up the economic ladder, even without mentionable natural resources.

In the case of our own Country, amongst all the Developing Countries save perhaps China, we have had an abundance of natural talent, and entrepreneurial talent in particular, and can help raise ourselves by our own bootstraps. In the 21^st Century, after almost four centuries of thralldom we are emerging from the shadows into the top echelons of technology, and commerce. Add to these, talents in the knowledge, cultural and other sectors, and you have a treasure house.

Spotting and nurturing Talent should be a prime concern of anyone concerned with the leadership of a Team, a community, an organisation or even the Nation. Too often we have seen talent circumscribed and indeed even sabotaged through lack of appreciation, sheer envy or even misplaced and conflicting loyalties to one’s own kin or tribe.

Talent crosses borders and barriers effortlessly and there’s that old saying that you cannot keep a good man down. Mediocrities everywhere try to suppress and sabotage Talent, sometimes out of inability to recognise the superior qualities of others, or even out of fear of the competition that emanates from that superior merit.

In organisations such as our Fraternity or other social service groups, it is of vital importance to recognise merit and apportion our rewards accordingly. It is not always seniority that prevails in recognising and rewarding Talent – often it is the reverse. The young bring their talent to action, as William Blake put it “Execution is the Chariot of Genius” – Genius is spotted early and does not really have to carry experience with it, to perform to super-human levels. Napoleon was in his twenties when he became a General of the French Army and Alexander died at 36, after conquering half the then-known world.

Today we, particularly the Elders of the Community and our Fraternity, should be constantly on the lookout for Talent, and to take particular care to nurture this precious resource. This is the object of our Mentoring programs which we shall be launching shortly, within our Masonic District.