Successful hiring, in any company, is one of the most difficult tasks in which to achieve repeatable success. From unexpected outbursts to terminal tardiness to woeful incompetence, every company has a hiring horror story regarding employees who interviewed strong but performed poorly.
Perhaps a subtle, but more dangerous occurrence is the all-too-common hire who performs their job in the gray twilight of mediocrity. They never rise to the occasion and they never catastrophically fail. They interviewed well but now simply perform their role in a nondescript manner within the company. Amass too many of these employees and your company will be overwhelmed with mediocrity…or worse. How do you identify candidates who have unseen natural capacities that will elevate them to incredible achievements?
The answer is aptitudes. Aptitude is defined as a natural ability, talent or aptness. Every salesperson has a different level of natural ability. Matching the right abilities to the requirements of the job provides the best opportunity for superior performance.
An example: Imagine two cars asked to go 90mph down the freeway. One car is straight off the NASCAR...