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|  | Author: Geoff Colvin
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
List Price: $25.95
Buy Used: $9.94
as of 3/19/2010 22:35 CDT details
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Rating:  86 reviews
Sales Rank: 2435
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.1
ISBN: 1591842247
Dewey Decimal Number: 153.9
EAN: 9781591842248
ASIN: 1591842247
Publication Date: October 16, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 86
 Practice, practice, practice January 31, 2010
Carolyn Thornlow (New York)
It's uncanny that Colvin and Gladwell simultaneously studied what is at the core of success. Relieving to most of us, the successful are not necessarily prodigious nor possess innate talent. They both point to research that shows practice does make perfect. Colvin expresses in terms of years -- 10 to be exact; Gladwell expresses it in hours -- 10,000. While the time adds up to be equivalent, their conclusions are different. Gladwell says that the opportunity to get those practice hours is determined by fate. Colvin is quite different. He is the voice of the rugged, focused and motivated. He shows the research and tells the stories of hope and aspiration -- if you focus, you can achieve higher heights. His exposition is not shallow cheerleading. To the contrary, he reveals that any old practice is not enough. It has to be the "right" practice. And, he admits that doing the right type of practice over and over is anything but fun. Perhaps most refreshing is his correlation of management demands with the demands of any great performer. He throws down the gauntlet -- with hard thinking, practice and perseverance, you can build a better organization and achieve better results. This is an invaluable business book and should be on every manager's bookshelf.
 Fascinating thesis, but a big void in its logic January 31, 2010
Norman Snyder (Charlotte, NC)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
True enough, the book illustrates case after case where world-class performance springs, not from some innate ability possessed at birth, but rather via effective practice. The author reaches into various disparate fields of endeavor to prove this point--golf (Tiger Woods), composing (both Mozart and the Beatles), chess (the Polgar sisters), stand-up comedy (Chris Rock), and others. Mr. Colvin bolsters this pattern by showing how, repeatedly, ten years of concerted effort preceded the respective breakthroughs for the individuals cited.
However--and this is where I find this thesis lacking--Mr. Colvin fails to explain the thousands of people who put in just as much effort, tried just as hard, and had the same teachers and mentors as those who achieved notable performance. For every Olympic champion, there are thousands who invested just as much practice time, who persevered through the same challenges, as those who won the gold. Thousands of garage bands who spent all of their waking hours searching for that big hit. Thousands, nay, hundreds of thousands, of corporate workers, toiling in excess of sixty hours a week, aspiring to be regional manager, let alone CEO. Why have these hundreds of thousands, or shall we say, millions, not achieved their goals? This book would lead the reader to believe it was purely the quality of one's preparation. Balderdash. This book is totally lacking in explaining why some achieve these heights, while most toil in obscurity.
Great book January 10, 2010
D.J. Young (Melbourne, Australia)
This is one of those books that makes you look at successful people in a different way. I was brought up to believe that you had to have talent to be successful in something. Geoff Colvin book breaks that myth down. He explains with a lot of examples about successful people how it in not really based on talent but on hard work and practice. Geoff talks about deliberate practice which is practicing something that you are not good at over and over until you master it then you move onto the next thing you are not good at. One thing he has found out is that the more deliberate practice you do in your chosen field then the better you will get at it. Also how having a great coach makes a big difference. This is a book that all young people should have the opportunity to read so they don't fall into the trap that you have to have talent but if you really want to succeed in your chosen field then you really have to put in a lot of hours of practice.
Great for Aspiring Parents and Kids January 7, 2010
Still Trying To Get It Right (Monroe, CT)
Excellent book whether you are a coach, parent, educator,manager or a wanna be superstar. The author reinforces with notiable examples and scientific studies that old adage, "there is no subsitute for hard work." I wish I had read this and trully believed in its teachings at a younger age. Very readable and interesting. I would like to see the author get better notoriety for this great read.
Talent Is Interesting November 11, 2009
S. J. Westerman (Salt Lake City, UT)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
We recently ordered copies for all managers in company to read Talent is Overrated. Under direction of the general manager, the idea of deliberate practice is being utilized throughout the group. I personally found the book interesting with many new ideas. It changed my thinking about the power I've been giving to "talent" rather than focusing on practice. It relates concepts to all areas including arts, music, academia, and business. It has changed my thinking and set me on a course of deliberate practice. Even if you don't accept the conclusions of the book, it gives you a lot to think about.
Showing reviews 6-10 of 86
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