Skill, Personality, Trained or Mindset? WTF!!

So I heard Gary Vaynerchuk talk about this today and it inspired me to write about it.  Many years ago my boss at the time said this to me, "Never hire a fully trained person with a college degree.  Hire a great personality, then train them."  I always remembered this and used it in my job interviews and how I managed the facilities I had in the health club industry for about 18 years.

But looking at it now it goes deeper than that.  I realized that I also lived my life this way.  I didn't care so much about a person's ability to play an instrument, for my band at the time or have a ton of acting training, for my films I was casting.  I wanted a great personality.  I felt that if I had a smart, self-aware person in front of me, I can help them do great things at any task.  I was right.  

A college degree is nice but can you also do the work?  In many cases, a college graduate has that, deer in the lights, look when are first asked to do something out of the norm.  Then if they're corrected, they lose their shit and now hate their job.  

Don't talk to me about your book knowledge and how that's the reason I should listen to you.  Show me.  Talk to me about your goals.  Tell about the last person you helped.  I don't even care if you talk to me about the weather, but show me your value by telling me what you value.  JHS