GURTLER'S SHORTHAND EFFICIENCY LESSON X LOOKING AHEAD ONE OF A SERIES OF LESSONS RELATING TO SKILL IN SHORTHAND WRITING PUBLISHED BY FREDERICK H. GURTLER CHICAGO, ILL. f 3 8 3 GURTLER'S SHORTHAND EFFICIENCY LESSON X LOOKING AHEAD ONE OF A SERIES OF LESSONS RELATING TO SKILL IN SHORTHAND WRITING By FREDERICK H. GURTLER CHICAGO, ILL. MAY f 1917 Copyright. 1917 FREDERICK H. GURTLER LOOKING AHEAD T N THIS lesson further suggestions will be made as * to additional avenues of employment. To work in a position with no particular object in view but waiting merely for something to turn up is to work to a dis- advantage. The suggestions here given should cause you to formulate your plans for immediate development and progress. The degree of effectiveness of those plans will be the measure of your business ability, your ingenuity, your resource and initiative. By lending yourself heartily to this important matter at this time you may greatly enhance your business possibilities. A PRIVATE SECRETARY The name implies the character of the work. A private secretary is one who assists another in a confi- dential capacity. A secretary is not limited to steno- graphic work. He or she is now an assistant in the business of the employer. He is a correspondent under his employer's direction and he may be a mere office boy on some occasions. He is a confidential messenger on other occasions. If the employer has to speak at a banquet, the private secretary may prepare the speech. The private secretary takes care of the preliminaries so that the principal has only to effect the final arrange- ments. The private secretary is an investigator, a helper, someone to discuss propositions with, someone who can imitate his employer so accurately that the cor- (10) 3 4 GURTLER S SHORTHAND EFFICIENCY respondent can't tell but what the principal is writing him. SOME OF THE QUALIFICATIONS In the first place, a private secretary must have an easy command of business English. The letters the business man is particular about he will dictate to his private secretary with the idea in mind that the sec- retary, in view of his special training in business English, will catch any little slip in the dictation. The letters, after they are dictated, may not always voice the idea of the busy business man but the private sec- retary gets his larger salary because he is able to sense those things and correct them without bothering the employer. I was in an office in New York City one time where an employer dictated about fifty letters to his private secretary in about twenty-five minutes. It took just a word or two on certain letters to indicate perhaps a full page letter when transcribed. The technical letters and those requiring the highly skilled experience of the employer, himself, were dictated in part; the rest of the letter was filled in by his stenographer just from suggestions. This method of dictating saves the em- ployer a great deal of time and accomplishes equally good results. That is how the private secretary can make twice as much as the stenographer. PURELY PERSONAL Now, we are going to deal with something, the im- portance of which might not have occurred to you. You must be neat. This advice will apply to stenog- LOOKING AHEAD 5 raphers or to any employees, but it especially applies to private secretaries who are thrown more or less con- stantly in contact with the employer. The slight addi- tional expense involved in keeping one's self very neat in appearance as against carelessness will pay big dividends. Of course, it is not necessary to make any suggestions along this line to wide-awake young people but there are many who desire to become private sec- retaries who in their zeal to perfect their knowledge of the mechanical side would, perhaps, become indifferent to things apparently foreign to shorthand. I do not mean to suggest that you have to be extravagantly dressed. That is just as objectionable as careless dress- ing. All I wish to convey is that you should dress in such a manner that you will be pleasing to your employer and make a good impression on those who may call at the office. Remember that you reflect the success of your employer's business to a certain extent by your manner, your dress, your appearance. PERSONALITY While efficiency plays an important part in the quali- fications of a private secretary, still there is another element vital to success in such employment, namely, personality. An easy, pleasing, graceful manner in dealing with fellow employees, with visitors, with friends, means pay in the envelope for you. That is saying a great deal, though. The grace and consideration with which you treat callers in the absence of your employer will mean a great deal to him and indirectly to you. You can cultivate personality. A disagreeable personage, 6 GURTLER S SHORTHAND EFFICIENCY or even a slightly disagreeable personage, no matter how competent in any other way, cannot succeed as a private secretary. Be pleasant and agreeable. Always work as though you were easily competent to fill your position. HUMAN NATURE In your capacity as private secretary you will perhaps receive callers some of whom may be very disagree- able. The poorest kind of secretary is one who will try by his conduct to inflame and embitter the feeling of customers toward a concern. The best kind of a private secretary is one who will alleviate and smooth over any temporary bitterness toward a concern, per- haps entirely ameliorate it. When someone comes with a "club" after the "boss" try to get a good suggestion in his mind to soften his attitude. Be tactful, be gracious. PUBLIC SPEAKING The scope of private secretary extends over such a wide range that it is rather a difficult matter to discuss it fully in a short lesson. I have known private sec- retaries to go out and make speeches for their employ- ers and they have done remarkably well, too. I have known private secretaries to represent their employers at meetings of the Board of Directors of an organiza- tion. I have known them to run the entire business. I have known them to make contracts involving thou- sands of dollars. Hence, not knowing what kind of position you may get, I want to remind you that you ought to be able to write a speech on any subject of LOOKING AHEAD 7 present-day importance; that you ought to be able to deliver it in a pleasing and effective manner; that you ought to be able to carry out any function of the busi- ness with credit to your employer. BUSINESS ROUTINE As to business routine, there is not anything about the office you ought not to know. You ought to know filing thoroughly; the different and best systems of riling; letter-press work, mimeographing and to know a good reproduction from a bad one, whether the process be by hectograph, multigraph or any other device. You ought to know about the various office appliances so that when your employer desires to make a purchase along this line, you will be able to give him some accurate advice along the best line of equipment. It is not necessary that you know all these things abso- lutely, but you ought to have an up-to-date opinion about them and be able to make a suggestion to your employer as to a reliable method of investigation. EXECUTIVE ABILITY Here is a qualification you cannot overlook. You will have stenographers under you. You want their co-operation. You want the kind of work from them that ought to be gotten out. Your executive ability should enable you to direct the work and have the perfect co-operation and confidence of those you are associated with. You want them not only to do, but to be willing to do what you ask of them. This is what is commonly known as executive ability. Executive ability means tact, appreciation, knowledge. (10) 8 GURTLER S SHORTHAND EFFICIENCY RELIABILITY With the idea of having a trustworthy servant, many a private secretary is employed. The business man wants some one he can rely upon absolutely in times when things go well and in times when they do not go well. He wants someone to represent his business interests before those who are anxious to gain a point against him. He does not want his personal repre- sentative to be cowed by vicious competitors or fooled by the suave. A private secretary is one who will do a thing the first time told, whether easy or difficult. A private secretary is one who will do for another his em- ployer just what another would do for himself. You want to have a pretty accurate knowledge or at least a general knowledge of all commercial papers. You want to know what you are doing before you sign a paper or permit important documents to get into the hands of other people. Of course, I naturally suppose you are a reader of the Gregg Writer the Department for the Typist and have there learned about office appliances. "Office Training for Stenographers," by Rupert P. SoRelle goes into this subject thoroughly, much more thor- oughly than we could possibly do here. However, if this is the line you wish to follow and if you feel you are not sufficiently acquainted with commercial papers, business forms and office detail I would strongly rec- ommend that you obtain this book. I do not want any of my students to get anything that they do not want to get ; on the other hand we sometimes expect a larger LOOKING AHEAD 9 salary than graduates of universities can get, without spending sufficient time or money to educate ourselves. If I were preparing for a position as private secretary I would subscribe to "Office Appliances," and, of course, "The Gregg Writer." Remember this, that all the qualifications that go to make up a good stenog- rapher are possessed by private secretaries. A private secretary is simply better qualified than the ordinary stenographer. He has gotten beyond the clerical sense to the business sense. He has the ability to conduct and feels the responsibility of conducting a business. GENERAL ABILITY It has been impossible to touch upon all the qualifi- cations of a private secretary and I know since you realize a private secretary simply means a good stenog- rapher, a skilled stenographer, an observing stenog- rapher, that you will be able to imagine for your own part the necessary and complete qualifications of your- self, having decided to engage in that profession. It is indeed a profession, one that calls for the develop- ment of your skill, mechanically, and the development of your personality. There isn't any occupation in life quite so pleasant as the development of your own personal factors of attractiveness, tact and business enterprise. In your work as secretary you have a splendid opportunity to observe the lives of successful men. A concern of sufficient size, the leading factors of which employ private secretaries, will necessarily draw to it men of great experience. Men of great experience, in all their dealings, are an object lesson to anyone desiring to develop himself. I do not mean 10 GURTLER'S SHORTHAND EFFICIENCY by this that all successful men in all particulars are to be followed, but naturally as you and I and the rest of us grow and develop and observe, we can judge for ourselves whether this man in the lessons that he gives, is to be followed or whether some other man in the lessons that he gives is to be followed. GETTING A POSITION We will assume for the purposes of this paragraph that you are qualified to act as private secretary. In this assumption, you would compare with a factory which is equipped to manufacture a product. What would the manufacturing organization do? The answer to their problems would answer yours. First, they would start a selling campaign, either by sending salesmen out on the road to call on the people who would be most interested in the product manufactured, or by circular letters try to interest people, or they would do both. It is assumed while you are preparing yourself for secretarial work that you have a position and this gives you opportunity to look around considerably without financial loss to yourself. When a stenog- rapher desires to obtain convention reporting he writes to the secretaries of conventions. He may write a great many letters without getting any returns. It seems to me your position is somewhat similar to the last in- stance cited. You might try a series of twenty-five letters gotten up in your nicest style, to general man- agers of corporations, being sure you give the man the right title and see what the result would be. You might try advertising in a daily paper but I think you might LOOKING AHEAD 11 spend a large amount of money without any returns. Other than these suggestions I would suggest a per- sonal interview with men requiring the services of a private secretary whom you could reach through your business or social acquaintances. Primarily, of course, it is understood that the position of private secretary is not the so-called "soft job" but one that carries a little better salary in order to attract the more com- petent. THE DECISION IS WITH YOU If you expect really and truly to become a private secretary and pin your hopes to that profession, why not resolutely determine now to keep trying until you land such a position ? It will be well worth your while and even the very trying will be an interesting adven- ture for you. Just think of the position of private sec- retary as one requiring not indifference but enthusiasm, not impatience but patience, not carelessness but care, not a solemn attitude but a cheerful spirit, not helpless- ness but helpfulness, not a will-less employee but an em- ployee with a will, not ignorance but information, not parrot-like performance but resourcefulness, not stu- pidity but cleverness, not one who detracts from busi- ness but one that attracts business, not irresponsibility but responsibility, not a slave but a master. If by these suggestions I can get you to think, to arouse yourself in the position and under the circum- stances that you now work, so as to start you upon a course of constant personal development toward an aggressive, tactful and successful career, I will feel that this lesson and the entire course will have accom- plished a desirable and profitable end. 12 GURTLER'S SHORTHAND EFFICIENCY A CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEE THE SERVICE Considering the civil service of the United States government as embracing all those in its service in any civil capacity, they may be divided into four divisions : 1. Officers elected. 2. Employees below the grade of regular clerks. 3. Higher officers who represent the policy of the dominant party, such as sustain relations of personal confidence, judicial officers, etc. 4. The great body of subordinate officers and clerks by which the administration of the government is carried on. A few years ago, the number of employees in the executive civil service was 337,000. Of this number about 200,000 were subject to examination by the Civil Service Commission. There are no parts of the execu- tive service of the government that are not touched by the "Merit System." There are eight fundamental features of the Civil Service Act around which the other provisions group themselves to form a harmonious whole. The act has stood the test of twenty-five years and has been strengthened by supplementary acts. After this lapse of time it can be safely asserted that the merit system has come to stay. There is still room for many im- provements, but the foundation has been laid and the needed changes will be made in due time. LOOKING AHEAD 13 CLASSIFIED SERVICE That portion of the civil service under the control of the Commission is generally designated as the "classified service" because it is divided into classes according to the compensation received, ranging from $720.00 to $2,500.00 and upward per year. STENOGRAPHY AND TYPEWRITING Under this head, three distinct examinations are given : one for those who are stenographers only ; one for those who are typewriters only; and one for those who are both stenographers and typewriters. As the supply of male stenographers is not equal to the demand, those examinations are now held quarterly. A special manual is issued covering these examina- tions known as "Form 1424." Persons desiring to take any of the three examinations should write direct to the U. S. Civil Service Commission, Washington, D. C, or to the local board of examiners in their own city for application form 304 and form 1424. Form 304 should be promptly filled out and mailed direct to the Commission at Washington. The applications must be properly filled out and received by the Commission not less than ten days before date of examination for those west of the Mississippi, and not less than six days for those east thereof, so as to enable the papers to be shipped to the point where the examination is to be held. Stenographer and typewriter examinations are held for four branches of the service, namely, the Depart- mental, Field, Isthmian Canal, and Philippine Service. 14 GURTLER'S SHORTHAND EFFICIENCY The combined stenographer and typewriter examina- tion is given for each of the four branches ; the separate stenographer examination is given for the Depart- mental and Field Service; the separate typewriter ex- amination is given for the Departmental, Field and Isthmian Canal Services. The examinations are iden- tical for all branches, with the exception that the type- writer examination for the Isthmian Canal Service in- cludes the additional subject of "General Business Ex- perience" which is rated on statements contained in the application blank. Examinations for the Field Service are held separate from those for the other three services. As a result of one examination, a male competitor may become eligible for appointment to the Departmental, Isthmian Canal, and Philippine Services in the case of the com- bined stenographer and typewriter examinations, or to the Departmental and Isthmian Canal Services in the case of a separate typewriter examination. If he also desires to become eligible for appointment to the Field Service, he will be required to take an examination especially for that service. Applicants are required to indicate clearly in their applications the service or services in which employment is sought. A separate application is required for each service. Women will not be admitted to the Philippine or Isthmian Canal Service. In view of the large number of female stenographer and typewriter eligibles, women who desire appointment in the departmental Service in Washington, D. C, will be admitted only to the spring and fall schedule of examinations. Women are eligible for Departmental Service, but LOOKING AHEAD 15 not for service in Panama, and the Philippines, nor will those of the men who qualify as stenographers only or typewriters only be accepted for service in those places. Three registers will, however, be pre- pared for the Departmental Service: one for stenog- raphers only, one for typewriters only, and one for stenographers and typewriters combined. Age limit varies: 18 or over for Departmental Service; 18 to 40 for Philippine Service; and 20 to 45 for Isthmian Canal Service. In the Philippine Service a rating of 75 per cent must be attained to be eligible to appointment. Entrance salary, $1,200. In the Isthmian Canal Serv- ice and Departmental Service 70 per cent only need be attained. Entrance salary on the Isthmus is usually $1,500; in the Departmental Service $900, although some appointments are made as low as $480, and some as high as $1,500. The applicant is required to state, when he is examined, the minimum salary he will accept. The lower the minimum the earlier appoint- ment is made, although if one states that he will accept $480 he may be certified to a $1,500 place. But it is apparent that if the minimum salary applicant states he will accept $900 he will not be certified to a $480 place. The examination is the same for all four branches of the service, but separate applications must be filed for each. Likewise the examination in stenography and typewriting is the same whether applicant is a stenog- rapher, typewriter or is both, but the application must designate which examination is desired. The examination is thoroughly practical and is neither excessively difficult to the qualified applicant 16 GURTLER'S SHORTHAND EFFICIENCY nor easy to one who is not qualified as a practical stenographer and typewriter. The great trouble is that there are too many that "think" they are stenog- raphers. They find out their mistake when they receive their standings from the Commission. The stenog- rapher only examination in a recent test was success- fully passed by 87 out of the 300 who took it ; the type- writer only by 346 out of the 401 ; the combined ex- amination by but 416 out of the 983 who took it. A very large percentage of those who passed any of the three were appointed. DESCRIPTION OF EXAMINATION The subjects of the examination with their relative weights, on a scale of 100, are as follows : Stenography only Stenography, 70; copying from rough draft, 10 ; arithmetic, 5 ; penmanship, 5 ; letter writ- ing, 10. Typewriting only Typewriting, 70 ; divided into three divisions 1. Copying from rough draft, 20; 2. Copying and spacing, 30; Copying from plain copy, 20; penman- ship, 10; letter writing, 10; arithmetic, 10. Stenography and Typewriting Combined Same sub- jects as above given; the average of the two subjects, stenography and typewriting taken separately, are com- bined, with a relative weight of 2 for stenography and 1 for typewriting, the net average of the two being the average entered on register. If either subject is taken separately the time allowed is five hours ; if combined, six hours is allowed, exclusive of time consumed in giving stenography dictation. To illustrate the relative weight feature if on the combined examination you receive 90 LOOKING AHEAD 17 per cent for each subject scheduled, excepting stenog- raphy, and copying from. plain copy respectively, in which subjects you were graded 80, your standing on the com- bined register would be 91.33 per cent; on the stenog- rapher only register, 83 per cent ; on the typewriter only register, 88 per cent. The stenography test consists of 250 words contain- ing no technical matter, usually from a speech. Four rates of speed are used, all of which may be taken, five minutes being allowed to choose which shall be tran- scribed. If at 140 words per minute, 100 per cent is given for speed; if at 120, 90 per cent; at 100, 80 per cent; at 80, 70 per cent. Speed and accuracy are given equal grades in stenography. A subject gen- erally giving much trouble in the typewriting examina- tion is that of copying and spacing. A sheet of actual typewriting is photo-lithographed and the applicant is required to make an exact copy of same, even to spacing and punctuation. Every deviation from the original, no matter how trivial, is counted against the grade allowed. GRADE SUBJECTS In addition to the technical portion of the examina- tion the applicant is also examined on what are termed "grade" subjects, such as arithmetic, penmanship, letter writing, spelling, etc. While relatively unim- portant, because of the small value placed on them in rating the examination as a whole, the grade sub- jects are in a way quite important, as they either advance or decrease the net average. Too many fail to realize this and are careless with those subjects, par- 18 GURTLER'S SHORTHAND EFFICIENCY ticularly if the general education of the applicant has been neglected. THE TECHNICAL SUBJECTS The apparent simplicity of the test in "copying and spacing" is very deceiving; the truth is there are few typewriter operators who do really perfect work on the machine, and the Commission's examiners will award a 100 per cent only to work that is flawless. The rules for marking, however, admit of no variation and every applicant's work is marked with absolute justice, whether it call for a grade of 100 per cent or o. In the rough draft test it is well for the applicant to read the photo-lithographed sheet over carefully before he attempts to transcribe it. The time lost in doing this will be more than compensated by the confidence thus engendered and the insurance against errors gained by a preliminary reading of the test. SPECIAL EXAMINATIONS The general provision limiting the number of exam- inations to be taken by an applicant to one a year does not apply to "special examinations," of which there are quite a number. By this term is meant an examina- tion not given frequently enough to be scheduled in the regular manual of examinations. Any person de- siring to take such examinations and many of them are exceptionally good ones to go after, should write the "Civil Service Commission, Washington, D. C." and ask to be notified when any "special examinations in stenography or typewriting or any combination thereof LOOKING AHEAD 19 with other subjects" are to be held. The Commission will make a note of these requests from time to time and when an examination is announced copies of the formal announcements will be sent to the persons filing such requests for advance notice, together with the necessary application blanks, etc. The following are a few of the special examinations which have been held in the past, and which may be held again, with salaries usually paid. CLERK-TYPEWRITER Open to males over 20 years old. Mint and Assay Service, Salt Lake City, Utah. Salary, $1,400 a year. In addition to clerical subjects this examination in- cluded the following practical tests in typewriting: Copying from Rough Draft, 30% ; Copying and Spac- ing, 40%; Copying from Plain Copy, 30%. Total, loo. A similar examination was held for a position in West Point Military Academy, which included also French and Spanish. For this high grade position the "munificent" salary of $750 a year was offered. The training required was practically identical, yet one posi- tion paid $1,400 a year while the other paid but $750. IMMIGRATION SERVICE A combination of stenographer, typist, law clerk and translator is provided for, and pays a salary of about $1,400 a year. Those interested should write for noti- fication as to when any such examination is scheduled again. 20 GURTLER'S SHORTHAND EFFICIENCY GENERAL SITUATION On the whole the civil service of the federal govern- ment offers many opportunities, particularly in an edu- cational way. If one "knows the ropes" he may secure a good paying position, while if he accepts the first one that is offered he may get a very poor berth, with little or no opportunity for advancement. (The author was fortunate in being able to give the students of Efficiency Course the benefit of the expe- rience of Mr. Frederick R. Austin, Attorney-at-Law and former editor of Civil Service Department of the Gregg Writer, Detroit, Michigan. Mr. Austin worked in Washington, D. C, for a number of years and has set forth the facts about Civil Service very clearly. ) THE MASTER STENOGRAPHER A master in any line of work is one who does his work in a highly skillful manner. Master stenog- raphers may be divided into two classes. First, those who become highly expert in the use of shorthand and, second, those who through shorthand are promoted to positions of responsibility and advantage. EXPERT STENOGRAPHERS I will take up the first class of master stenographers referred to and make a few suggestions. The stenog- rapher who is willing to prepare himself to do his work well has an immense advantage over the ordinary and usual class of stenographers. The same is true of any other line of endeavor. LOOKING AHEAD 21 The average draw a certain salary and a few here and there who are above the average draw a different and larger salary. While a large salary is not alone what we are working for, it is something which puts life and opportunity in the way of the recipient. Should you not, as a citizen, demand and claim all that your services really entitle you to? Should you not in the same manner demand and claim all the op- portunity to render services and thus provide yourself and for those who may be dependent upon you such an income as will permit of the fullest development of your mental powers? Is there a sufficient reason for doing less than you are capable of? Every young man espe- cially should prepare to meet the commercial demands that may be made upon him, demands that may be made upon him in a domestic, a civic or a commercial sense. In this day of enlightenment we should observe the sign I noticed in an office not long ago which read, "Do not make excuses, make good." There is an abundance of success and hope in such a sign which the young and impressionable mind should get the benefit of. To particularize with reference to stenographers who will become expert and successful in the use of the kin- dred arts of shorthand and typewriting; certain defi- ciencies are immediately apparent. There are stenog- raphers who make a success as private secretaries, those who make an equal success as public stenographers and those who are successful as court reporters. I know lady stenographers who are really not con- sidered private secretaries, simply stenographers, who make $1500 a year. I know of young men and women who make very comfortable incomes through the expert 22 GURTLER'S SHORTHAND EFFICIENCY use of shorthand. You have the same opportunity. Most of the people I know who are now successful once were as lacking as you or I in skill but through per- severance, through observation and a development of those qualities which make for social and business suc- cess, they have gradually come into positions which give them the opportunity to use all the resource, initia- tive and judgment they can command. STENOGRAPHER BUSINESS MEN AND WOMEN Then there is that other class of master stenogra- phers who because they are just what they are have been given increased responsibility from year to year until they have entirely gotten out of the so-called cleri- cal realm. Now, either of these courses is most desir- able. If you should become so skillful in your art that you could demand the respect of business men and be trusted with the responsibilities which are coincident with the transaction of business itself, then you would be a master, you would be a leader, you would be a factor in business. This condition inevitably leads to recognition of your ability as a sort of master mechanic in business and until you reach that position you can never expect to get very far in the business world. Bus- iness men respect people who can do things. UTTERLY HELPLESS It is surprising how helpless some stenographer- peo- ple are. They allow the business world to cow them and subdue them until they themselves begin to think they are not worth more than ten dollars a week. Of course, some stenographers are expensive at any price LOOKING AHEAD 23 because they do not know their work, they haven't taken the time to become skilled and hence are not skillful. It is such an easy matter to acquire skill and such a helpful thing and I do not see how any one can waste six evenings a week. I would spend at least two or three of them while getting started in developing skill. Speaking in terms of interest on money, what could be a better investment ? Why be so helpless ? Help your- self. You will be better off and all the world will re- spect you for being able to do something some one thing skillfully. BE DEPENDABLE Not long ago I was present at a meeting where an employee was rather harshly criticised for not being prepared. It seems he had been given considerable time for an investigation of a certain matter and was to report to the committee his findings. On the occasion in question his report was such that even a cursory examination would have enabled him to make it. The committee relied upon him to get the desired informa- tion and putting the matter off until shortly before it was needed, were deprived of the opportunity to make their own investigation, investigation which would have gleaned full facts regarding existing conditions. This might not have meant so much in dollars and cents but it illustrates the great point in business that a young man having the opportunity to show his personal worth and dependability, failed and failed because he was not reliable. On the other hand supposing he had made good! There were in this committee representatives from 24 GURTLER'S SHORTHAND EFFICIENCY a number of large business concerns, each of whom might some day have needed a young man with quali- fications, such as this young fellow no doubt possessed, with the exception of reliability. That would have been his chance. The business world does turn a cold shoulder to the fellow who seeks responsibility and then only sees the money he is going to get out of it forgetting the im- portance of the service. If you make good at every opportunity you cannot help but succeed. QUALIFICATIONS EPITOMIZED There are a few big words in business. Among them are skill, dependability, truthfulness, loyalty, willing- ness, endurance, progressiveness and aggressiveness. All of us can't measure up to the same standard as we think of sameness in connection with the uniformity of a manufactured product. But what one may lack in a certain quality, such as endurance, may be made up by a high development of intuition ; what another may lack in capacity may be made up by determination. Because of the ever unknown quality of the business characteristics of ourselves there is added to life a keen interest. To be dependable to be singled out as one who does things is a tremendous asset. A man may be faithful or industrious or even capable and still not dependable. A faithful man may be incompetent; he who is capable may possess erratic tendencies which minimize his efforts and the industrious man may be a blunderer. But the dependable man is he who can at all times be depended upon to do that which is set for him to do as it should be done. Like everything else, LOOKING AHEAD 25 dependability can be acquired. Like everything else that is desirable it requires effort. But the reward is worth the struggle. FAILURE You can't justify failure. No matter how clever the explanation or how dismal the experience you could never by act or word justify failure. That word only exists as a matter of discipline. In our weaker moments we may become discouraged because things have not gone the way we expected. If our expectations had been qualified and justified by experience, had been tried and tested, the result would have been satisfactory. Even our discouragements are not as serious as we make them out to be. A discouraged man never did very much of anything. If you will permit yourself to become discouraged because you cannot have your own way in business you are not preparing yourself to become a business man or woman. All business is full of disappointment and surprise. The successful man or woman is he who in the easiest, smoothest way meets the conditions of life. Remember that success can be at- tained through the best efforts of which you are now capable. OPPORTUNITY Arouse yourself. Bestir yourself. Don't wait till opportunity knocks at your door, but go out to meet it and welcome it. Your ability is a great asset. You have the nucleus of a fortune if you will work your resources to the limit. In the career of every man who has made a success there was a time when he "woke up." Why not wake up now? Efficiency and oppor- 26 GURTLER'S SHORTHAND EFFICIENCY tunity go together. If you are not efficient, become so. When you become efficient in your work then set about to sell your ability. It has a market value. If you are a poor salesman, you yourself are to blame. You can experiment and develop. Giving things away, or sell- ing them, for less than cost, is not salesmanship. Why not get the highest market price today? To delay is to encourage defeat. Why delay? ORGANIZED EFFORT The importance of a thorough organization as a factor in business cannot be learned too early for you. If you are to be worth anything at all to yourself you must organize the abilities you have and play them against business to the very highest degree of efficiency. "Know your goods" means no more to the salesman than "know yourself" means to you. If you do not know what one thing you can do better than anybody else, then analyze yourself. Every successful com- pany is developed by organization. That also applies to you in a very personal way. Well organized effort has an axis around which it turns, speaking in a figurative sense. In a mental sense there must be a standard, a rule of action or creed to which one may turn when things go dead wrong or when it is necessary to make a decision. Creeds have been written and forgotten but to the extent to which service has been rendered by them they have been of value to the writer and reader. Therefore, it is well for you to have a sort of some- thing which will be your daily inspiration. You may write this for yourself and every morning for breakfast LOOKING AHEAD 27 think the thought or reiterate the words as a kind of stimulant to more determined action. Constant con- quering counts. Everything that is worth while comes as the result of struggle, and it requires the oil of determination as it were, to make the wheel of fortune turn easily on its axis. You have only one life to live. If you do not get yourself into some active, constructive channel of development you will fail and ever fail. Steady devel- opment is unassailable. It is not my idea to do your thinking for you nor to do the work for you that is outlined in this course. I have endeavored to tell you how to do your work with the least resistance and accomplish the best results. I have endeavored to guide your thought along right and known lines. THE PERSONAL EQUATION To more clearly illustrate what I mean by having a sort of creed or plan by which to work I submit the following for your consideration : I WILL do the right thing at the right time in the right way ; do some things better than they were ever done before; eliminate errors; know both sides of the question; be courteous ; be an example ; anticipate requirements ; de- velop resource; recognize no impediments; master cir- cumstances ; act from reason rather than from rule ; be content with nothing short of perfection. Success or failure is largely of our own planning. If you insist on failure, of course, there is little reason to expect you to succeed. The world has no patience 28 GURTLER'S SHORTHAND EFFICIENCY with one who is disgruntled with the treatment he re- ceives. You are apt to get just about what you give. If you are liberal in your treatment of others, others are pretty apt to be liberal in their treatment of you. If you put a dollar's worth of energy into a business, you are pretty apt to get just compensation out of it. If you lend yourself heartily and willingly to the mas- tery of any work it is apt to be more carefully done than if you attempt it in a disinterested manner. Vim is of value. You are a part of a world whose keynote is en- deavor, whose incessant demand is for effort. You cannot become a good stenographer with easy and pleas- ant dictation or work. You must learn the value of discipline and defeat. It is through being conquered, being unable to get the dictation, being disappointed in getting a better position or making a higher grade in examinations that you and I and all of us may learn some of our weaknesses and provide for ourselves the opportunity of correcting and eliminating them. Through our most disheartening experiences we can learn, if we will, our most valuable lessons, lessons the mastery of which inevitably means success. You do not expect the easy things in life which is no man's life after all but you expect because of ex- periences you have had that whatever comes that very thing will compel you to think, to will, to endure, to withstand and not give way, to insist that through it all you WILL develop and acquire a personality which will surely win and which will cause you to be recog- nized as a person of worth, of distinction, of dignity and success. UXSlVEKbiTY of CALlFOki\^ AT LOS ANGELES LIBRARY . This book is DUE on the last below 3 1 ' 58 00731 1979 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 315