Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
“The thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works.”
3 Main Messages:
People want work that is meaningful
Success is due to perseverance, hard work and some luck
Continue to be curious and look for patterns behind the data
What is the key to outstanding success? Perseverance? Learning from mistakes? Hard work? Luck? Parentage? Education? I remember, as a child, being influenced by Record Breakers where we were told that “dedication’s what you need if you want to be a record breaker”.
This is the second time I have read Outliers (first published in 2008), which explains why many of the stories were familiar. One suggestion which had stuck with me from the first read is that that success is partly due to hard work and partly due to luck.
We’ve all heard the expression “it’s not what you know but who you know” and this is certainly a key aspect of success for many. We are currently being introduced to a new generation of super-influencers. Walking down my local high street (Orchard Road) I am bombarded with images of the children of the rich and famous: Lily Collins, Zoe Kravitz, Gigi & Bella Hadid, Lourdes Leon, Lily-Rose Melody Depp… the list goes on and on. All who have had a head start in life because of their famous and well-connected parents.
That is not to say that they don’t have the necessary looks and talent - clearly they do. They also have work ethic and drive and, perhaps, more to lose than us mere mortals. Equally this doesn’t mean that famous offspring have guaranteed success, but in these cases, the benefits of money, connections and a parental example cannot be denied.
Gladwell also explores how our drive can be determined by our genes and explores the cultural and work ethic differences between the Asian descendents of Chinese wet rice farmers who work all year and the European descendents of agricultural farmers who would harvest and then rest for months. Having taught in both Europe and Asia, I find this an interesting, if a little simplistic explanation.
Other factors to be considered could be how education and teachers are regarded in the different societies; how they are represented in the media; and how well they are paid. Certainly my impression has been that families in Asia (of all nationalities) are more internationally minded and ambitious than many of their European counterparts. Like the offspring of the famous, their success is determined more by their parents’ attitude than their cultural history.
Gladwell continues to explore outliers - from New York lawyers to The Beatles to Silicon Valley programmers and concludes that while hard work is certainly a predictor of success (his 10,000 hour rules seems to confirm the old adage that ‘practice makes perfect’), “they are products of history and community, of opportunity and legacy.”
In Black Box Thinking, Matthew Syed argues that “talent … combined with purposeful practice, is largely responsible for success” and the Growth Mindset movement started by Carol Dweck fosters this belief that all is possible, if only you work hard enough.
Gary Player, the South African golfer, said: ‘the longer I played, the luckier I get’ - in other words, practice helps but it’s also about having the luxury of enough time (and other resources) to dedicate to something long enough to get the lucky break.
Undeniably, timing is crucial and all of the successes referred to in Outliers happened to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right skills and enough time to be able to take advantage of their situation. So, is dedication all you need? Clearly not. A combination of talent, support, determination, and practice are what you need - and underpinning all of this: chance! That’s what you need if you want to be a record breaker: a little bit of luck.
