Book description
What if everything you know about raw talent, hard work, and great
performance is wrong? Few, if any, of the people around you are truly
great at what they do. But why aren't they? Why don't they manage
businesses like Jack Welch or Andy Grove, play golf like Tiger Woods
or play the violin like Itzhak Perlman? Asked to explain why a few
people truly excel, most of us offer one of two answers: hard work or
a natural talent. However, scientific evidence doesn't support the
notion that specific natural talents make great performers. In one of
the most popular Fortune articles in years, Geoff Colvin offered new
evidence that top performers in any field - from Tiger Woods and
Winston Churchill to Warren Buffett and Jack Welch - are not
determined by their inborn talents. Greatness doesn't come from DNA
but from practice and perseverance honed over decades. And not just
plain old hard work, but a very specific kind of work. The key is how
you practice, how you analyze the results of your progress and learn
from your mistakes, that enables you to achieve greatness. Now Colvin
has expanded his article with much more scientific background and
real-life examples. He shows that the skills of business - negotiating
deals, evaluating financial statements, and all the rest - obey the
principles that lead to greatness, so that anyone can get better at
them with the right kind of effort. Even the hardest decisions and
interactions can be systematically improved. This new mind-set,
combined with Colvin's practical advice, will change the way you think
about your job and career - and will inspire you to achieve more in
all you do.
A"A fascinating study of great achievers from Mozart to Tiger
Woods, and he has brilliantly highlighted the fact that great effort
equals great success. Talent Is Overrated is not only inspiring but
enlightening. It's a terrific read all the way through. A"Donald
TrumpA"A profoundly important book. With clarity and precision,
Geoff Colvin exposes one of the fundamental misconceptions of modern
life - that our ability to excel depends on innate qualities. This is a
rare business book that will prompt you to think and inspire you to act.
A"Daniel H Pink, author of A Whole New MindA"What an exciting
book! Talent Is Overrated explains where tomorrow's business champions
will really come from. Read it-it is truly research based. It's a real
breakthrough. A"Ram Charan, coauthor of ExecutionA"I rejoice!
In this amply researched, adroitly reasoned, and lucently written book,
Geoff Colvin democratizes the potentiality to be a success-in any field.
Even if you didn't talk to the baby nurses the moment you were born,
write a sonata before you were two, or create a global lemonade-stand
business in grammar school, you have the potential to be a great orator,
a master composer, or a Jack Welch. If you have the urge, go for it!
Geoff tells you how to get there, and what he says comports totally with
my own experiences in sports, law, and business. A"Herb Kelleher,
cofounder and chairman, Southwest AirlinesA"Geoff Colvin takes us
on a tour de force to understanding exceptional performance; using the
arts, science, and business, his book shows us how some humans are
Olympian in their achievements. The book is packed with useful insights
and ultimately a 'mirror test,' two profound questions for readers
pondering their own potential for exceptional performance: What do you
want? And what do you believe? This book opens you to deep
self-reflection. A"Noel Tichy, coauthor (with Warren Bennis) of
Judgment; professor, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan
Geoff Colvin, Fortune's senior editor-at-large, is one of America's most
respected journalists. He lectures widely and is the regular lead
moderator for the Fortune Global forum. A frequent television guest,
Colvin appears dailty on the CBS Radio Network, reading seven million
listeners every week. He co-anchored Wall Street Week on PBS for three
years.
