L'optimisme, ce n'est pas le refus de voir ce qui ne va pas, c'est le désir de ne pas s'y attarder. // Donne moi le courage de changer les choses que je peux changer, la sérénité d'accepter celles que je ne peux pas changer, et la sagesse de distinguer entre les deux. (Marc Aurèle) // Don't raise your voice; improve your argument. (Desmond Tutu) // Be the change you want to see in the world. (Gandhi)

19.5.15


85% of your financial success is due to your personality 
and ability to communicate, negociate and lead. 
Shockingly, only 15% is due to technical knowledge. 
(Carnegie Institute of Technology)

1 comment:

John said...

While I don't disagree that personality is important, these percentages ring false, and I think are ripe for re-study. This slide you've shown is actually a butchered quote from a Forbes article by Keld Jensen who failed to cite the exact source, although it was attributed to the Carnegie Institute of Technology. The Carnegie Foundation says:

"These statistics were extrapolated from A Study of Engineering Education, authored by Charles Riborg Mann and published in 1918 by the Carnegie Foundation. The cited figures come from the data on pages 106-107. The report is out of print, but can be located through a public library or a university library." https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/faqs/

Just to be clear, this was a publication based on a narrow survey (opinion) over 100 years ago when the US was still an agrarian economy, horses outnumbered cars, and most Americans had never owned an electric light bulb. This quote shows where we have come from, not where we are. To the extent this quote is becoming a platitude and discourages anyone from pursuing their STEM education, I think it's dangerous. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math knowledge aren't something to be downplayed, but rather uplifted, encouraged, and supported.

3:23 PM

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