Talent is Overrated is the title of a fascinating book by Geoff Colvin. Like Malcolm Gladwell's The Outliers, it makes you completely rethink what you thought you knew about learning and achievement. As the title suggests, the book details how intense, sustained practice - not raw talent - is what makes performers in every field great. The book is not just anecdotal either: Colvin quotes from and cites all the research on achieving excellence and makes a compelling case that the 10-year rule is right: 10 years of sustained intense 'deliberate practice' can make anyone great.

The key phrase is 'deliberate' practice. A constant willingness to work on your areas of weakness and to challenge yourself beyond your comfort zone. Whether it is elite violinists, chess players, mathematicians, football players or businessmen the key is what we often say in workshops:clarity of performance goals, metacognitive reflection about what works and what doesn't, self-assessment and self-adjustment.