The Qualification Ruse

Grades. Degrees. Titles. Certifications.

These are the systemic qualifications. But they don’t tell the whole story.

I’ve met straight-A students who couldn’t hold a conversation. I’ve worked with PhDs in engineering who couldn’t design, build, or debug their way out of a paper bag. I’ve worked for leaders who couldn’t lead their family on a vacation. I’ve hired ISO-9000-certified firms that couldn’t deliver a sandwich, let alone quality engineering.

Sometimes, and in some genres, it’s all we got. You may have to play the systemic qualification game.

However, if you want to make an impact, or hire someone who will make an impact, here’s what you’re really looking for:

Competence. Competence is skill, and skill isn’t the same as talent. Developing a skill simply requires a choice and then the work to get better.

Adultiness. Show up. Call back when you say you’ll call back. Deliver when you say you’ll deliver, or be up front when you can’t. Respect your coworkers, their ideas, and their perspectives. Take it on rather than pushing it off — get on the hook.

Curiosity. Be curious and follow it. Curiosity never killed anything. Rather, it’s the engine that leads to innovation.

Becoming. You might not be it now, but you can be. We’re all becoming something. Become who you need to be on purpose.

These are all choices that you can make.

In whatever line of work you’re moving through, the system may demand its formal qualifications.

But don’t substitute systemic qualifications for real qualifications.