The Open Road: Autobiography of George A. Hormel

by George A. Hormel

Personal recognition from his superiors and the fact that we considered him intelligent enough to have profit-producing ideas were as important in quickening his perceptions as the more tangible rewards he earned. In brief, whenever I could convince a man—and this I conceived to be my most important job—that the only limiting factor in life was himself, and that the job he was now doing was both useful and important enough to engage his whole effort since it was the means by which he lived, he proceeded to make greater use of such talents as he possessed. And he often possessed more talents than he dreamed he owned. I believed the first step toward accomplishing these ends was to get a man to question the “why” of what he was doing, to get him to ask himself, “Why am I performing this operation in a particular way? Is there a better, easier way to do it?”

Psyhchology of human performance and improvement