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Geoff Colvin
Talent Is Overrated
What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else
Portfolio, 2008
What's inside?
Talent still matters, but deliberate practice trumps it. Why focus and hard work matter more than innate ability.
Recommendation
Author Geoff Colvin rejects the popular notion that the genius of a Tiger Woods, a Mozart or a Warren Buffett is inborn uniquely to only a few individuals. He cites research that refutes the value of precocious, innate ability and he provides numerous examples of the intensely hard work that high achievement demands. Best performers’ intense, “deliberate practice” is based on clear objectives, thorough analysis, sharp feedback, and layered, systematic work. getAbstract finds that Colvin makes his case clearly and convincingly. He shows readers how to use hard work and deliberate practice to improve their creative achievements, their work and their companies. The author’s argument about the true nature of genius is very engaging, but, in the end, he makes it clear that the requirements of extraordinary achievement remain so stringent that society, after all, turns out to have very few geniuses. Colvin admits that the severe demands of true, deliberate practice are so painful that only a few people master it, but he also argues that you can benefit from understanding the nature of great performance. Perhaps, he says, the real gift of genius is the capacity for determined practice. You can improve your ability to create and innovate once you accept that even talent isn’t a free ticket to great performance. It takes work.
Summary
About the Author
American journalist Geoff Colvin is a senior editor at large for Fortune magazine. He is a frequent public speaker, and TV and radio guest. He appears on the CBS Radio Network daily and co-anchored Wall Street Week on PBS for three years.
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