The practical experience in the various departments of machine construction, its sale and its use, is undoubtedly almost absolutely necessary for the average man in this work.

Its value is primarily to give an opportunity to see things in actual operation.  The shop affords an opportunity to see how a machine stands up to its work, where it is weak, and a thousand and one points that can best be seen in actual operation.  But there is still another phase that is comprehended more readily by the practical experience, and this applies to the various departments of business as well as to the works.  It is the knowledge of the men and their mental make-up and attitude.

A keen observer soon realizes that successful life in the machinery world will not come easily to any one who lacks a good understanding of others in the field.

Capacity for New Ideas.

The assimilating capacity of the industrial world is the real gauge of the progress which should be indulged in.  This capacity to take in new ideas and to work by new methods is not the same in all beings, and it is not the same in all organizations.  There are ways by which it may be measurably increased.  New views are more readily digestible if presented by enthusiastic advocates, as this stimulates an interest.  Any attempt to forcibly inject new ideas only results in indigestion.

The assimilating capacity of an industrial organization can be greatly increased by any scheme that awakens an interest.  The controlling policies should include advance in efficiency and generally in the quality of work turned out, but this advance should not involve a break in the output.  It mould be based on a knowledge of the whole business.  In other words, it should not only pay in the long run, but if possible it should pay from the moment it goes into effect.

We have said that all changes should be of the digestible kind, and the feeding process should not be a stuffing process; that the ingestion should not exceed the digestion.  We have also briefly mentioned the importance of keeping the digestion tuned up to the best speed by having the organization in a condition to most readily take in changes.

That we must make some allowance for inertia of thought and habit in all mortals goes without saying, but the exact amount to be allowed is very difficult to estimate.

Successful management depends on the degree with which a man can estimate the receptivity of other beings with whom he deals.  This knowledge of receptivity should include the thought and action of men all the way from the unskilled worker to the directors, and also that of all men in other organizations in any way affected by his organization.

Just as food is more digestible if agreeable to the palate, so this receptivity or assimilating power may be increased by presenting new ideas and methods in agreeable form.  A full realization of the effect of this inertia of thought and habit makes the great efficiency of specialization more comprehensible.