plawolf
Lieutenant General
If you point me to a very successful person who claims to have never suffered any setbacks or failures, than I will show you a lier, or someone who has been extraordinarily lucky.
The true measure of a person is not whether or not he/she has ever made mistakes or suffered failures, it is down to how someone suffered those setbacks, and what they did about it.
I would much rather have someone working for/with me who has had a spectacular failure, but emerged from it stronger and more determined than an equally successful/capable guy who has never put a step wrong in his life.
It is my experience that the later in life someone has to deal with a big setback/failure, the more catastrophic such a setback tend to be to that person, both emotionally and psychologically, and consequently, the less likely that person is to recover from it. If you present me with someone who has never made any big mistakes, than unless that person is a god, good fortune would have played at least some part to his success. I never try to bank on good luck, and I would be worried about how well such a person would be able to deal with failure if and when that does happen to them.
Obviously you need to recognize loosers who cannot help but make stupid decisions, but in my book, everyone is allowed at least one big screw up, and if he/she handled the aftermath of that screw up well, that may well make them a superior candidate to someone who has never made a big mistake in my view.
So, so long as this American was upfront and honest about his past failures when he pitched to the Chinese, and they decided to give him a contract anyways, than that is only a positive in my view, as it speaks volumes about how good his proposals are that the Chinese were willing to bet on him despite all that has happened before.
But that is only if he has been honest. If he tried to hide his past mistakes from the Chinese and got the job because no one knew what he had done before, well, that is a deal breaker in my book, and I would not only fire his ass, but also sue him for damages if I was in charge of the Chinese company that hired him.
The true measure of a person is not whether or not he/she has ever made mistakes or suffered failures, it is down to how someone suffered those setbacks, and what they did about it.
I would much rather have someone working for/with me who has had a spectacular failure, but emerged from it stronger and more determined than an equally successful/capable guy who has never put a step wrong in his life.
It is my experience that the later in life someone has to deal with a big setback/failure, the more catastrophic such a setback tend to be to that person, both emotionally and psychologically, and consequently, the less likely that person is to recover from it. If you present me with someone who has never made any big mistakes, than unless that person is a god, good fortune would have played at least some part to his success. I never try to bank on good luck, and I would be worried about how well such a person would be able to deal with failure if and when that does happen to them.
Obviously you need to recognize loosers who cannot help but make stupid decisions, but in my book, everyone is allowed at least one big screw up, and if he/she handled the aftermath of that screw up well, that may well make them a superior candidate to someone who has never made a big mistake in my view.
So, so long as this American was upfront and honest about his past failures when he pitched to the Chinese, and they decided to give him a contract anyways, than that is only a positive in my view, as it speaks volumes about how good his proposals are that the Chinese were willing to bet on him despite all that has happened before.
But that is only if he has been honest. If he tried to hide his past mistakes from the Chinese and got the job because no one knew what he had done before, well, that is a deal breaker in my book, and I would not only fire his ass, but also sue him for damages if I was in charge of the Chinese company that hired him.
