frank, easy, confidential
basis; second, in so far as in him lies, to be at peace with all his
fellow employees. We have seen some of the most valuable men of their kind
we have ever met suddenly discharged without a word of explanation by
employers of this type. The trouble was that someone who could get a
hearing carried a bit of scandal, perhaps without the slightest foundation
in fact, to the ever-suspicious ears of the boss. The boss, because he
lacked the courage to admit that he had listened to such gossip, removed a
man who had served him satisfactorily for years without a word of warning,
and without a hearing.

Unless you understand human nature, and if you are at all responsive to
appreciation, there is probably no greater pleasure than to work for such
a man as we have described, so long as the sunshine of his favor falls
upon you. But, as a general rule, we find their employees anything but
happy. Almost without exception they feel that their tenure of office
hangs by the slenderest of threads and that it is necessary to regard all
of their fellow employees with suspicion. Some men enjoy working in this
fevered atmosphere. If you are one of them, there are excellent
opportunities for you in the employ of a man of this type. But you will do
well always to have a good safe place prepared in which to land if you
should suddenly be dropped.

THE BLUFFER

In all of your dealings with the man who lacks real courage, remember that
his blustering and show of bravery is only an assumption to cover up his
deficiencies and that if you yourself have the courage to face him and, in
the language of the street, "to call his bluff," he will quiet down and be
perfectly amenable to reason. But be sure to observe your man carefully
and accurately before trying to call his bluff.

SUCCESS AS AN EMPLOYEE

The ultimate success of every employee depends, first of all, upon his
selection of the kind of work for which he is pre-eminently fitted;
second, his selection, so far as possible, of the kind of employer and
superior executive under whom he can do his best work; third, upon his
study and mastery of every possible resource of knowledge and training
connected with the technical and practical aspects of his work; fourth,
upon his careful and scientific development of all of the best and most
valuable assets in his character; fifth, upon a thorough understanding and
application of the principles of personal efficie