- 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
- 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.
