RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32164, 6 December 1969, Page 27

RANDOM REMINDER

CUCKOO, IN THE NEST

It is a common cause of 1 complaint these days that the young men in business do not apply them- . selves as their fathers did. - They have, the older ones will say, shaking their grey heads, no initiative. They work by the book, they watch the clocks, . they go only by what the award says, they have no interest in their firm, no pride in their work, no idea of how to look presentable to the public, ‘they are unreliable, they are not punctual, and are, in fact, a shiftless, useless lot All very well, they say, for a youngster to take a few university units and - expect to start at the top . but in many forms of . enterprise this is no real training at all. You have

to have a practical knowledge, far more value than any academic successes and university degrees. You have to train yourself for the job, and not from books. It is therefore most encouraging to be able to report that at least one young man is showing a Victorian determination to succeed in his chosen profession without sporting a beard and a couple of A passes. He is an auctioneer, a little south of Christchurch, and as we are well aware, auctioneers have to be terribly alert. If they are not observant, the bid of §145,000 put in by the Marquis of Mudford, and signalled by the slightest drooping of the right eyelid, will escape them. This

young auctioneer is leaving nothing to chance. His principal problem is to make sure that he does not miss a bid, that he should spot every movement of members of his audience.

This man should have a successful career. He knew what was required of him, so he practised. He took a sustaining draught with him and locked himself in the fowl-house. He delivered his patter to the birds, taking a “bid” every time a fowl moved its head or made a sound. He found it most rewarding. But before going into action, we would suggest he take the post-graduate course, at one of several women’s organisations we might mention.