"There is something that is much more scarce, something finer far, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability"
About this Quote
Merit isn’t the rare metal here; discernment is. Hubbard’s line flatters “ability” only long enough to demote it, then elevates a second-order talent: the knack for seeing competence clearly, naming it, and backing it before the crowd catches up. The construction is a salesman’s staircase - “scarce,” “finer,” “rarer” - a rising bid that primes you to accept the twist. When the payoff lands, it’s not a romantic celebration of genius. It’s a critique of how often talent is squandered because gatekeepers can’t spot it or won’t admit they have.
The subtext is pointed: societies don’t fail mainly from lack of smart people; they fail from bad selectors. Hubbard is writing from the early-20th-century American churn of industry and self-improvement culture, when “efficiency” was a civic religion and bosses, editors, and patrons acted as human sorting machines. In that environment, the ability to recognize ability becomes a moral claim disguised as a practical one. It’s a call to humility (you might not be the star) and a warning about power (someone else is choosing the stars).
There’s also a quiet absolution baked in. If you’re talented and overlooked, the problem may be less your insufficiency than the world’s poor eyesight - or its incentives to reward loyalty, familiarity, and noise. Hubbard’s genius is making that indictment sound like advice: sharpen your judgment, because the rarest resource isn’t brilliance. It’s the person brave and clear-eyed enough to endorse it.
The subtext is pointed: societies don’t fail mainly from lack of smart people; they fail from bad selectors. Hubbard is writing from the early-20th-century American churn of industry and self-improvement culture, when “efficiency” was a civic religion and bosses, editors, and patrons acted as human sorting machines. In that environment, the ability to recognize ability becomes a moral claim disguised as a practical one. It’s a call to humility (you might not be the star) and a warning about power (someone else is choosing the stars).
There’s also a quiet absolution baked in. If you’re talented and overlooked, the problem may be less your insufficiency than the world’s poor eyesight - or its incentives to reward loyalty, familiarity, and noise. Hubbard’s genius is making that indictment sound like advice: sharpen your judgment, because the rarest resource isn’t brilliance. It’s the person brave and clear-eyed enough to endorse it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Leadership |
|---|
More Quotes by Elbert
Add to List
