One of the programs that was installed in my brain as I grew up was that ‘intelligent' people could do almost anything due to the fact that they had the capacity to learn.

The education system when I was young was based on the understanding that, if you left school with a whole raft of qualifications, then any job was open to you.

If you wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, pilot, engineer or an architect then all you needed was these school qualifications and you could go on to learn anything.

Sadly, many people who did train to be doctors didn't turn out to be very good doctors, as with lawyers, pilots or any other job you care to mention.

When I was an apprentice engineer I can remember working with young engineering college graduates. Some of them were really good, they had talent for engineering and it was really apparent. However, there were others who, if truth be told, were pretty hopeless. Their intelligence had helped them learn enough information to qualify for a degree in engineering but they just didn't have the talent.

I once appointed a college graduate as a salesperson. I fell into the trap of not thinking but reacting to my programming and believing that because he was ‘intelligent' then he could learn to sell.

I discovered that he had the capacity to learn all about our products but he didn't have the talent to persuade others, or to go out and find new customers.

I was also stupid enough to believe I could teach him; however, as I've said many times before - "You can't make people what they're not!"

You can teach people skills and give them knowledge however, if they don't have the talent, then their performance will suffer.

The successful manager looks for intelligence, but more importantly he looks for talent to do the job and achieve the outcomes needed for the business.

Alan Fairweather, "The Motivation Doctor," is an International Speaker, Best Selling Author and Sales Growth Expert. He will reveal how to – motivate your customers, motivate your team and motivate yourself!

For the past seventeen years, he's been developing the talents of Managers, Sales and Customer Service people, and turning them into consistent top performers.

Alan is a specialist in the Banking, Financial Services, Retail, Real Estate, Telecommunications, and Hospitality Industries. His inspirational and  entertaining, seminars are delivered in the UK, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.

www.managedifficultpeople.com