The Themes in Your Life

The inspiration for this blog came from two unlikely sources when it was first drafted six months ago.

The first was several years ago when I came across an article in the Fortune Magazine titled ‘What it takes to be great’ by Geoff Colvin, its senior editor-at-large. In essence, he argued that practice and hard work trump talent. The feedback to the article was so good that he subsequently penned the book ‘Talent Is Overrated’. I read the book only recently (reviewed here) but the idea that talent is not the driver to success had been firmly planted.

The second was my own experience. 16 years of working in the industry has exposed me to a variety of challenges. I have seen several people up close on how they successfully navigate everyday issues, but also have seen others – brilliant, intelligent & hard working in their own way – fail remarkably. About the latter, we just say ‘what wasted talent’ or ‘he could not make it’, and move on. Upon close observation of such folks (who span all levels of an organization from the very top to the entry-level), I was able to derive a few consistently common themes that successful individuals apply and the rest do not.

This blog is about these 4 themes. They will look very ordinary and simple. In fact, you will be very disappointed that they do not sound ‘strategic’. But I can state with confidence that imbibing them is your first step to greatness. While success in life, career, marriage and parenthood is a function of many many aspects, these four make a good beginning.

Before we get on to the themes, let us understand the meaning of precocious talent by taking an example of a person from sports that we are familiar with - Sachin Tendulkar. Die-hard fans will point to his 600+ run stand with Vinod Kambli when he was 15. They will talk about the centuries he scored on debut in the Deodhar & Duleep trophies before 16. And of course, they will rave about his fantastic innings on a bouncy track at Perth that is considered to be one of his finest test centuries before he was 20. All this is proof – they will say – that here was a player who was born with talent and destined to greatness.

But these fans are wrong. Talent is terribly overrated and the themes to success reside elsewhere.

Theme 1: Read Read Read

There are several CEOs in the world who do not play golf, but there is practically no CEO who does not read. World leaders, in addition to running their countries, read about 50-60 books per year. Lack of time or disinterest in reading is no longer an acceptable excuse. Reading opens your mind to new ideas and helps create new ‘connections’ in your head (think of it like the act of raking your head that is similar to how the farmer rakes his land before every sowing season).

Read all that you can get hold of. Fiction is fine, so are comics. Dig into economics – and yes, watch CNBC for business news - even if you don’t understand anything in the beginning. Some day, I promise you, it will all make sense. Read viewpoints from both the left and the right – regardless of your political inclinations. You will be surprised that you are not as much a die-hard capitalist or a bleeding liberal that you thought to be.

Theme 2: Write Write Write

Writing crystallizes your thinking & frames your perspective. This will make you measured – and over time – assured. Take notes…. copious notes... I once had a colleague who would get furious when people walked into his meetings with no notebook in hand. ‘It means’, he would say, ‘either what I am going to say is not important or you think you are not required’.

Theme 3: Practice, Practice, Practice

Look up the 10,000 hour rule on the internet. It states that in order to be considered an expert, you need 10,000 hours of practice. Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers argues that Bill Gates of Microsoft & Bill Joy of Sun Microsystems reached greatness by 17 because they had the opportunity to work on computers for over 10,000 hours. In Talent is Overrated, Geoff Colvin explains the elements of deliberate practice – it must be focused, involves feedback, and must be painful.

Incorporate the 10,000 hour rule in your lives. Practice before every speech, every presentation and every meeting. Expect the unexpected. An instructor once told me that before everyone arrived, I must go to the farthest chair in the room and check for font sizes and color palettes on the screen. It was from him that I learned that the days of blaming the projector were over.

Theme 4: Think Think Think

This is most difficult, and often avoided. We get so busy in our work, families, chores etc that we do not spend time to think. I will ask you to start thinking about just 3 questions.

• What is your purpose in life? To put it bluntly, why do you exist?
• What are your values? In short, what do you stand for?
• How do you want to be measured on the day you die?

Start asking these questions from today. I promise you that you will not find the answers right away. Or tomorrow. Or the day after. These will take years. But if you don’t give up, one day you will find them. And that is when you will discover your life’s true calling.

In conclusion, I go back to Sachin Tendulkar. In case you insist that he was just talented, think again. 10+ hours of cricket from the time he was 11. Facing bowlers in the nets from 18 yards instead of 22 to improve his reflexes. A body that has more dents than your bike or your car. Sachin Tendulkar - a true embodiment of deliberate practice. I rest my case.

L.L. Bean - Big Shoes To Fill

An advantage of working with Retail clients is that you understand the method and the madness in deciphering consumer behavior. A lot of thought goes into the layout of the aisles, arrangement of items and diversity of choice. You develop immense respect for retail specialists and store associates whose business it is to observe buying patterns, develop insights, remain innovative, and offer an experience that buyers can cherish. 

But to me, the true measure of the iconic nature of a company is reflected in its culture, depth of innovation and interactions with its customers. These principles were in full play during my previous US trip when friends of mine strongly recommended that I visit the flagship L.L. Bean store at Freeport, Maine. That two hour visit inside this 24-hour-365-days-a-year store showed me just why this company is so adored by millions around the world. 

L.L. Bean is a privately held retailer specializing in clothing and outdoor recreation equipment. It has stores in the US & Japan, but derives a large share of revenues via its mail-order catalog and the web. Even before you enter, you get a flavor of its customer service and innovation. A large mock-up of its first-ever product, the Maine Hunting Shoe, frames the entrance. 

As you watch kids – and adults – pose by the shoe, a poster to its left proudly proclaims its lineage. In 1912, Leon Leonwood Bean returns from a hunting trip with cold damp feet, and thus is born the idea of a shoe with waterproof rubber bottoms and leather uppers. He sells 100 pairs to fellow hunters and sportsmen. 90 are returned because the stitching that connects the leather and rubber gives way. Although it nearly puts him out of business, he refunds the customers' money and improves the shoe design. A unique mail-order catalog company takes off.

An associate greets me as soon as I enter. I tell him where I am from and that I have been encouraged to visit even though I do not hike, shoot or fish. He smiles, offers a store map, tells me what to look for (there's tons of apparel and home furnishings to consider) and asks me how else he can help. I ask him something that I am sure will be met with either a 'No' or 'Let me check with my manager'. I ask him if I can take pictures. 'That's fine, take as many as you want' he says. I have been to 9 countries, worked in 6, have visited retail outlets in every one of them – and I can say with confidence that not many associates are empowered to give that answer in a flash in the cut-throat world of retail. Less than 10 steps into this store and I am already impressed.

You see memorabilia from the past. The first shoe.... the sewing machine where it all came together... and that classic quote by L.L. Bean that is relevant not just in fishing, but also to life (and may I say, to investing as well:-)).

                                          

 

As you walk further, you understand how one drives innovation by working closely with world-class requirements, pushing products to their limits of endurance, and constantly thinking of customers' needs.

You also realize that when you go into a store, you do not buy a product but live an experience. That explains why right next to a hunting platform (machaan) that is on sale, there is also a mannequin with the right apparel and gear.

But most of all, it dawns on you that their statements on customer satisfaction go right into their DNA. Above their check-out counter is a philosophy born 100 years ago that is relevant even today. It is their famed Return Policy that allows you to return their product any time after you buy if you are not satisfied. 

Outstanding values, great products, fantastic shopping experience, and phenomenal customer service. The recipe for true customer delight. We all know this - it is neither original nor unique. But only when you visit a world-class store like L.L. Bean (Apple store is the other that comes to mind) do you understand how all these ingredients must come together.

Don't miss this store when you are in Maine next.

Talent is Overrated

So what makes some people world-class performers? Is it due to innate talent? Do they possess god-given gifts? Do they have fantastic intelligence? Or are they genetically well-endowed? Geoff Colvin, Senior Editor at Fortune, explores this in a superb book - Talent is Overrated.

Taking a range of examples from the 1800s, and across a variety of disciplines including science, sports, music, investing and technology, his conclusion is profound yet simple. The answer to all the above questions is No. Mozart became Mozart by working hard.

But Colvin argues that is it not the simple ‘hard work’ - as we know it - that gets you ahead. What is required to build world-class performance is deliberate practice; a kind of practice that is specifically designed to improve performance, that is repetitive, that is highly demanding, that involves receiving constant feedback, and above all, that is just not much fun. Reading about Mozart, Tiger Woods (who was a world-class performer by 19 and been practicing the game for 17 years), Warren Buffett and many more, we understand that as you apply the principles of sustained deliberate practice, you perceive better, understand more and remember a lot more.

The book is good not just because it is relevant to sports and music. For professionals like us, it talks about the importance of building deep domain knowledge, reading multiple case studies to manage the complex interplays, and setting goals not just about the outcome, but more specifically on the process we will undertake to reach the outcome.

Parents will be delighted to know that the book does not discount the ‘edge’ a child may have in intelligence or capability. But they must heed the argument that these advantages are at best marginal. The ‘edge’ in a child translates to ‘greatness’ only due to the multiplier effect of deliberate practice coupled with a strong support environment, the right tutors in one’s life, the sacrifices made by family and the intrinsic passion within.

We all know the 10,000 hour rule (simply put, it is the extent of effort required to be considered an ‘expert’ in any field). Where this book excels is in providing clarity on what constitutes ‘practice’ during those 10,000 hours. Read this once if you are a professional. Parents – read this twice.