I was reading a piece by New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman the other day when I came across a quote that stuck with me.
Friedman’s essay was about successful, job-creating communities in middle America. He wound up in Oak Ridge, Tenn., where he interviewed Roane County Executive Ron Woody.
Woody said employers in Roane County report problems filling jobs because too many applicants can’t pass drug tests and/or don’t have even basic “soft skills.” Woody went on to explain the concept of soft skills: “Employers just want someone who will get up, dress up, show up, shut up and never give up.”
Or as another Woody – Woody Allen – once said: “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”
It also reminded me of a saying popularized by former NFL coach Bill Parcells who insists: “The most important ability is avail-ability.”