Chris Mance II - Mental Skills Coach

One of my favorite quotes is that hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. If you need a book to prove this quote true, this would be that book. Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin cracks the code.

With an irresistible subtitle of “What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else” my expectations were sky high as a dug into chapter one. Fortunately, Clovin did not disappoint. He genuinely lays out a solid argument for how to break down the talent code.

Surprisingly enough, it’s both as simple and as hard as the quote I led with suggest. Hard work beats talent, but just as the title of the book states plainly, talent is also overrated. What’s more, people generally underrate hard work more than they overrate talent.

However, when the author references hard work, he is very specific about that work. The type of hard work Colvin writes about is what he calls deliberate practice.

What is Deliberate practice?

Deliberate practice is how world-class performers design their practice routines around improving specific aspects of their performance. It’s not random, and it’s not hard work for the sake of hard work. There is always a method to the madness. Colvin states:

Deliberate practice is characterized by several elements, each worth examining. It is activity designed specifically to improve performance, often with a teacher’s help; it can be repeated a lot; feedback on results is continuously available; it’s highly demanding mentally, whether the activity is purely intellectual, such as chess or business-related activities, or heavily physical, such as sports; and it isn’t much fun.

If you think like me, then those last four words stick out like a sore thumb. IT ISN’T MUCH FUN! Yes, Colvin suggest that one of the characteristics that separate world-class performers from everybody else is their ability to toil for long hours doing things that aren’t fun. Furthermore, Colvin suggest that world-class performers often forgo fun completely for the sake of partaking in this deliberate practice.

In addition, Colvin covers eight things that world-class performers do that have nothing to do with talent and everything to do with deliberate practice.

1. Build deep domain knowledge
2. Develop a mental model of the domain
3. Research historically great people and performances and identify the specifics that distinguished the greatness
4. Spend many hours of solo practice on those specifics that drive greatness
5. Set and achieve daily practice goals
6. Develop self-efficacy about practice
7. Practice metacognition
8. Use self-evaluation as a basis for improvement

Talent Is Overrated is a Fun and Clever Book

In conclusion, this book is both fun and clever. With famous examples such as Mozart, Tiger Woods, Jerry Rice, Chris Rock, Bill Gates, Jack Welch and Benjamin Franklin among others, you won’t want to put down this book. There is truly something in it for everyone. The author provides perspective for athletes, business minds, artist, coaches and parents.

Finally, I do want to warn you that although this book is fun, it’s not always an easy page turner. It’s easy to bog yourself down in the details and nuances of what the author is saying. In addition, because the author covers so much, you may find some chapters uninteresting and prefer to skip forward. Nevertheless, I still highly recommend this book as the information is invaluable for both parents and coaches.