📖Talent is Overrated
- authors
- Colvin, Geoff
- year
- 2019
- url
- https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Overrated-2nd-World-Class-Performers-ebook/dp/B07JGZN8M5/
“Experience trap”—people with experience do not perform better than those with very little experience (some even perform worse) → Experience Trap
world-class performance drastically increased since some 100-200 years---because we study more effectively
financial capital is no longer a scarce resource---human ability is
global human ability market
there is a research showing the talent does not exist (or irrelevant to top-level performance)
no genes identifying talent were found yet
There is little or no correlation between high performance and IQ
High performers remember well real-world arrangements, but are “normal” on random tests → Mental models make things easier to remember
Football players spend little time playing football—most of time is devoted to training which has little to do with the game itself → Deliberate Practice might not be directly related to the target activity
train for
specific needs
on his own (much of work)
no fun
Deliberate Practice: → Signs of Deliberate Practice
designed specifically to improve performance
(might be designed with the help of teacher)
(teacher can observe you from the outside)
at limits (but not much beyond)
(choose a specific aspect that needs improvements)
can be repeated a lot
continuously available feedback
(teacher can provide feedback)
highly demanding mentally or heavily physical
(4/5 hours/day)
(60-90 minutes sessions)
isn’t much fun
There is nothing magical about 10,000 hours (it’s just an average number of hours best violinist have by age 20) → 10,000 Hours Rule
Best performers do not perform on auto-pilot or automatically—they think through what they’re doing
Look ahead in the future (try predicting and playing through different situations)
how to
Know where you want to go (role-model after a better performer)
Practice directly
Music model
repeat the same thing multiple times
Chess model
solve problem and compare solution
Sports model
general skills (like fitness, etc.)
useful for repetitive but unpredictable conditions
Practicing in the work (self-regulation)
before
set goals
plan how to reach
in process
self-observation
after
self-evaluation (search for errors)
Deepening your knowledge (domain knowledge)
Mental model
For organizations:
understand that each person in organization is not just doing a job, but is also been stretched and grown
find ways to develop leaders withing their jobs
use short-term job assignments (additional to main job)
encourage their leaders to be active in their communities
understand the critical roles of teachers and of feedback
after-action review, honest feedback
identify promising performers early
understand that people development works best through inspiration, not authority
invest significant time, money, and energy in developing people
make leadership development part of the culture
develop teams, not just individuals
problems:
picking the wrong team members
low trust
competing agendas
unresolved conflicts
unwillingness to face real issues
Innovation is neither spontaneous, nor requires no knowledge. These are both myths. In reality, innovation requires extensive knowledge of the field and builds gradually.
Innovation also requires direction. Being “more creative” or “better” does not give a clue of what need to be achieved.
Innovation is better done using internal Motivation, rather than external stimulation (as anything else?)
Deliberate Practice stops aging effect in the related skills
Multiplier effect—small initial advancement in skill pushes to the new environment that advances the skill further, fueling the loop.