Abstract
Every indication — economic, social, and political — appears to suggest that the shortages of manpower, especially competent management manpower, that has plagued business over the past two decades, will continue well into the future. In fact, most indicators point to a worsening before the situation improves. This can lead to only one conclusion: The competition for all the manpower necessary to the growth and success of the individual business enterprise, as well as to the economy as a whole, will intensify tremendously in the years ahead. It consequently behooves the prudent manager to do all within his power to create the kind of organizational climate that attracts competent people and to utilize the talents and abilities of these people as wisely as possible. | It is to this latter consideration that this paper is addressed, and more particularly to the methods and techniques currently being used in the home offices of life insurance firms to identify managerial potential. Many life insurance companies refer to people as their greatest asset, and well they might. Little product differentiation exists in the industry. The product innovation of one firm today belongs to the industry tomorrow. The only real edge that one firm may have over another is the quality of its organization, that magic mix of skills and talents and abilities that truly makes one group of people superior to another. The point is that this is an industry in which having the right person in the right job at the right time can give a firm the necessary competitive edge to win more battles than it loses. It naturally follows that the company that does this most consistently over a long period of time will grow and prosper at a faster rate than the one that overlooks this very important point. So while the human asset doesn't appear on the balance sheet, effective utilization of it makes more than a little difference in the profit picture. All too frequently, management development appears to the cost conscious manager as an outgo program producing little in the way of measurable results.