19. Education and Success

I met my old friend Jimmy last week on a train to New York. He is now a very successful 1) ____, and the president of a 2) __ company in the Silicon Valley. We spent a great part of the 3) ___ chatting. He then told mea story about himself and his company. One day he decided to invite 20 of his 4) ____ to a dinner to celebrate the rapid development of his company. When they were having their brandy one of the team suggested it would be interesting to hear what were the qualifications each had needed for their present jobs. They spoke in turn. It was indeed a most 5) ____ team, with lots of PhDs from the best-known universities around the world. At last it was my friend’s turn to speak and there was a moment of silence. “I left school at 16 with no qualifications whatsoever,” said the president of the company. “I had to learn to 6) ____ by listening to other people, joining their ideas together, and becoming better than other people at taking risks. Basically I had to use my 7) ____. That’s how I’ve managed to get your lot together! You may have the most impressive educational background, but I’m the one who knows how to use you ! I make the decisions and give orders, 8) ____ all the qualifications you have.” After the 9) _____, my friend paused for a while and 10) _____, “It seems to me that we have to be very careful not to provide people with too much education!”