Learning from Tiger Woods

Geoffrey Colvin, as reported in Work & Family Life newsletter (January 2007; [email protected]) reports that, contrary to conventional wisdom, innate talent has little or nothing to do with the success of the greatest achievers such as Tiger Woods.  He observes that many high achievers have a passion for what they do, but the key trait they have in common is hard work.  Even the most accomplished performers need a decade of hard work before becoming "world class."  Elite performance in some fields can require 20 to 30 years of preparation.

So what does that mean for the rest of us?  Here are Colvin's suggestions:

• Change your mindset.  Approach your work with the goal not just of getting it done but of getting better at it — much better.  See every task you perform as an improvable skill.
• Go at your work in a new way.  Go deeper.  Think about what is actually happening.  Focus on why you are doing something in a particular way.
• Adopt a longer-term point of view.  Think of your work in a larger sense, not just doing a job.
• Seek feedback from sources with different perspectives.  After you complete a task, get some feedback, but don't sit back and wait for it.  Seek it out yourself — from multiple sources.  Then make changes in your behavior as needed.
• Follow these steps on a regular basis, not sporadically.  It's what separates the super-achievers from the rest of us.
  

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