Reading in Theodore Rockwell's "The Rickover Effect," a biography of Admiral Hyman Rickover, who was a driving force in developing the Nuclear Navy. It's a pretty fascinating look at the man and his role in developing the nascent military-industrial complex, but with the aim of increased efficiency and lower costs. (The bad of the complex came in afterward, I'm convinced.) Anyway, I thought this bit was an interesting look at how Rickover picked people to work with his program:
"Admiral [a subordinate said], I can't figure you out. You just washed eight guys down the drain with the back of your hand, and now you're going to spend hours on the plane tonight to make a possible small difference in somebody else's career. How come?"
"These are my people, [Rickover said]. That's the difference. Dunford, did you ever really look at the kind of people I've brought in here?"
"Yes, sir, of course. And I've heard people from industry and from research laboratories say that this organization has the highest concentration of bright young engineering talent in the country."
"You still don't get it. Our senior scientist has a master's degree in electrical engineering ahd an Ph.D in physics. But he is also an ordained Orthodox rabbi, and highly devout. He has spent many a twenty-four hour day in an airport because the sun had started to set on a Friday and his religion forbade his traveling. Our senior metallurgist is so highly regarded by the Mormon church that I'm afraid they're going to pull him out of here for a top position in Salt Lake City someday. One of our chemical engineers ia a leader in the Church of the savior, a particularly respected evangelical church here in town. And now I've had a request from one of our people for six weeks off so that he may make the pilgrimage to Mecca required by his faith. These are very spiritual people. They are not just technicians, they are highly developed human beings."
Rickover clearly wanted human beings working for him. He wanted people who showed dedication in every aspect of their lives, not merely exerting dedication in certain areas, like work. He wanted people who were well-rounded, who stood up for what they believed in, even if it didn't apply to the technical work they did for him.
The book mentions earlier that the metallurgist in question is Richard G. Scott, who did indeed answer several calls to serve in Salt Lake City, as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy from 1977 to 1983, when he was called to serve as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles until his death in 2015.
Rickover knew his people well, and wanted to treat them well because they were willing to giver their all. A good example for me to follow.
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