What I will write in this blog

This is a central reservoir for general notes emerging from the non-corporative side of my life. These notes will document my ideas, the books/articles I read, the conversations that I may have leading to concepts, etc.

See the Content gadget on the right-hand side for a list of topics that you will find in this blog.






Sunday, July 11, 2010

The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. By Daniel Coyle


So, here I start my quest to understand how and where I am going to identify the players of the “new world” that is rapidly moving in right in front of our eyes.

My instinct tells me: “look for talented people!”. Yes, that makes sense; but what exactly is “talent”?. I am now unleashing my curiosity (elegant name for proud ignorance) about the definition and concepts around “talent”.

The central point in this book is the mantra: “skill is cellular insulation that wraps neural circuits and grows according to certain signals”; and this constitutes an easy-to-remember set of words that can describe “talent” as a set of skills for a specific purpose.

Then we learn that this insulation is provided by a substance of name myelin; the thicker the better. So the issue turns now into the mechanisms by way of which we can produce this myelin insulation in a consistent, reliable and sustainable manner. We can conclude that we can develop a set of skills (and therefore talent) provided we can produce myelin.

This concept entails a neurological approach that will furnish my notes with a better scientific background than a purely romantic description of “what talent is”.

The book identifies the presence of three major elements of the Talent Code – and having a direct participation in the production of myelin. These elements are:

a. Ignition. A hot process that gets you going to the start line in the myelin-producing race. The reasons behind this move will determine to a great extent how fast, how reliably and how sustainably you build up your myelin insulation. It is interesting to read the perspective of the author about the reasons why different people go for different commitment levels. From motivation (self- or externally-induced) to primal cues (you are not safe, you are behind, belonging, etc.), a vast range of ignition mechanisms are hosted at both conscious and unconscious levels. The book provides a guide to identify where this ignition switch may be for the reader. A landing point is provided by our immense field of emotions as a driving-force to induce behavior.

b. Deep practice. A cool process that acts as the main driver for myelin production is the so-called deliberate practice; you practice those actions that are in the limit between your comfort zone and your learning zone. Not so easy that you get it right all the time; not so hard that you fail every time. You produce myelin every time you make an error, rationalize it and correct it… many times. The book breaks the concept of Deep (deliberate) Practice in easy-to-understand components such as (1) Chunk it, (2) Repeat it and (3) Feel it. It clearly states that struggle is not an inconvenient option; but it is a neurological requirement. There is a benefit (great one) in making mistakes; so do not be too harsh on you next time you make a mistake and learn to feel better about it by implementing a deep-practice concept around it.

c. Master Coaching. As many other things in life, you are better off with a companion that is suitable for your purposes; in this case, it is your (master) coach. The book provides the main virtues and traits that are desirable in this individual; these are identified as: (1) a valid knowledge matrix to qualify as a coach for your specific purpose; (2) Perceptiveness to recognize a learning-path for you to march along and (3) Fire-proof honesty to guide you along beyond and above any interest other than your progress in the chosen field.

Actually, the books presents these main discussion lines in a different order (Deep Practice, Ignition and Master Coaching); but the sequence above makes it easier for me to relate to each one of these concepts and the connection between all three of them.

All these concepts are spiced up along the book with a light touch of sense of humor and backed up with several descriptions of experimental setups and observations supporting the theories presented.

From my personal perspective, one buried detail that I rescue as very valid is the replacement of the expression “in spite of” by “because of”. In general terms, when things do not march all that well, you may opt for a self-victimizing description (and self-hero proclamation) such as “I get better IN SPITE OF the adverse conditions around me”; or you may choose a much constructive approach such as describing your improvement “BECAUSE OF your choice to overcome and conquer adverse conditions by way of deliberate practice”.

My main feeling after this first exposure to “talent defined” is that I am not looking for a skill set or talent in itself. I think I am going to be looking for individuals that have the traits that permit myelin generation; specific-purpose talent will then naturally follow. At any rate, I feel satisfied by having found this book as my stepping-stone into understanding “talent” from a neuronal (brain-related) approach rather than the typical romantic descriptions found in the literature.

I can also (easily) conclude that the search for talent (skills or myelin) has many other components that I am not aware of. So I believe that I have just got started on my exploring this line. This is a fascinating landscape already for an engineer like me with zero formal-education on brain development and related aspects.

A nicely-organized page with various pieces of information (book, blog, author, etc.) around these concepts can be found in this link: The Talent Code

Who are the new players ?

We are witnessing a significant shift in global paradigms (personal, professional and social); this will attract a whole new set of players that can conform to the new game and its new rules. How do we select these players becomes crucial. Implementing common practices for selection goes against the paradigm shift itself.  So where do we look??

 I look for a more "natural selection" (yes, Darwinian) oriented process. I look for talent that can be breed and grown at neurology level. I look for talent that imprints the preservation of the "professional species" that we need going forward.

 I am NOT looking for yet another set of theories on leadership as the result of "talent". I am looking for descriptions that factor the role of our brains in decision making, plasticity and learning into the development of the traits that will distinguish these new players. This is the kind of talent that can cause a species to adapt and evolve; and therefore survive.

This is the preamble to the notes that will emerge out of my (admitedly, not full) immersion into understanding what is "talent" from above-described perspective.