Michael Scott on Taking Chances

"What is the most important thing for a company? Is it the cash flow? Is it the inventory? Nuh-uh. It's the people. The people. My proudest moment here was not when I increased profits by 17% or when I cut expenses without losing a single employee. No, no, no, no, no. It was a young Guatemalan guy. First job in the country, barely spoke English. He came to me, and said, "Mr. Scott, would you be the godfather of my child?" Wow. Wow. Didn't work out in the end. We had to let him go. He sucked." - Michael Scott

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You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and you shouldn't judge a person based solely on their skills. Michael Scott took a chance with the young Guatemalan guy. And yes, this was a bad move, but at least he gave the young guy a chance.

Also, Michael ended up being the godfather of the man's child. So that's the main benefit of giving chances to unskilled people. You may end up firing them, and they may hate you forever, but at least you'll be forever linked by a child. It's kind of like a bad marriage.

How many godchildren do you have?