A

June 27th

ADVERSITY REVEALS

“How does it help, my husband, to make misfortune heavier by

complaining about it? This is more fit for a king—to seize your

adversities head on. The more precarious his situation, the more

imminent his fall from power, the more firmly he should be

resolved to stand and fight. It isn’t manly to retreat from fortune.”

—SENECA, OEDIPUS, 80

s the CEO of Charles Schwab, Walt Bettinger hires hundreds of
people each year and interviews hundreds more. Over his lifetime, we
can safely assume he’s had his share of hits, misses, and surprises when it
comes to bringing people on board. But consider one technique he’s used as
he’s gotten older: he takes a candidate to breakfast and asks the restaurant’s
manager to purposely mess up the candidate’s breakfast order.
He’s testing to see how they react. Do they get upset? Do they act
rudely? Do they let this little event spoil the meeting? Do they handle the
inconvenience with grace and kindness?
How you handle even minor adversity might seem like nothing, but, in
fact, it reveals everything.