Colvin has studied talented athletes, musicians, chess players and others considered to be extremely talented, and he reports that talent is not what separates the average performers from the truly great in any field. 

He describes what he calls deliberate practice as the differentiator.  Read about it here and here.

Mastery, innovation and creativity are the keys to breakthrough performance in any field.  How can you apply the principles to your own career?  Colvin suggests these guidelines.

First, master the basics of your career.  Colvin writes that in study after study, of geniuses and top performers, researchers found that it takes about ten years of deliberate practice to master is needed to break through to great performance.  If you start deliberate practice at ten years old, you may break through by the age of twenty.  If you are a 35-year old adult, you may see real results by 40.  Most people don’t have the patience or focus to work on their skills for that long; there are too many other distracting and more fun things to do.  That’s why there’s been only one Steve Jobs so far.

You may ask, can’t I just go back to school and learn what I need to know?  Colvin says that the research indicates that you can’t.  In fact, after a certain amount of training (about the equivalent of a few years of college), more education actually has an inverse effect on your ability to innovate.  When subjects knew an advanced and complex way of doing a task, they became much slower at recognizing a simpler or more elegant solution to the problem.  Less educated subjects who did not know a complex way to do a task, recognized and learned new and easier solutions much faster.  To reach the pinnacle of achievement, you have to exit the learning mode and enter the practice mode.

Creativity doesn’t, as some of us suppose, spring spontaneously into being.  Colvin cites numerous examples of very innovative inventions and works of art that appeared to come from nowhere.  When you study the innovators, however, you see a pattern of studying what works for years, then finding the one improvement or innovation that will revolutionize the current standard.  Picasso, Eli Whitney, even Steve Jobs, all built on what had come before.  By mastering what is, they could spend time thinking about what is next.

By now, after reading over 1,400 words on deliberate practice (if you’ve read all three posts) you may be saying “thanks, but no thanks.”  Most of us will say the same.  We can go through life being pretty good at most things and very good at one or two.  We’ll also be spectacularly bad at doing at least one thing.  That’s okay.  We can always buy a ticket and enjoy the work of true breakthrough performances with a little more awareness and appreciation.  For my part, I have a new Joshua Bell Pandora channel.  I will enjoy it all the more for knowing what it takes to become Joshua Bell.

Colvin has studied talented athletes, musicians, chess players and others considered to be extremely talented, and he reports that talent is not what separates the average performers from the truly great in any field.  He describes what he calls deliberate practice as the differentiator.  Read about it here.

Deliberate practice means that you take one skill you don’t have and work on it over and over and over and over. And then work on it some more.  You work until you’re exhausted.  And then work on it some more. 

You may not have the time or patience to do this kind of practice, but you may be able to get better results by applying yourself in a more deliberate way.  Here are some tips for setting up a more deliberate practice, whatever you do.

• Break down the skill you want to develop into single components.  Take a single part of the work (your follow through on a golf swing, for example) and practice it against a known standard.  Focus on that single component until you get it right.
• Figure out what model you are working toward.  Colvin cites three models of preparation and achievement.  The “Music” model is based on the theory that perfection exists.  You’ve heard the Beethoven sonata performed exactly as it should be by a master, and you aim to get as close to that as possible.  In art, you have a photograph of the object to try to reproduce. While interpretation is part of being creative, most artists strive to be able to master a piece so that it’s technically perfect as well.  The “Chess” model is based on studying masters and their moves over and over again so that eventually you always know which move will work in which situation.  For the record, business is taught using this model.  The “Sports” model is based on the fact that in a competition, you cannot know what will happen next.  You can only prepare yourself and your skills to be at top form.  In this model,  no matter what happens, you can exploit the moment.  Steal the ball, find the opening, pass your opponent.  You can’t plan in advance, but you can be ready.
• After you have an idea of your preferred model, get a coach.  There’s a reason that almost every professional in every field has a coach. Actors, musicians, athletes, and artists all know that they need an outside source to observe them impartially, make suggestions based on experience, and hold them accountable for practice and improvement.  Business is one of the only professions where coaching is rare.  When you think about it, there are many skills we could improve on in business; it’s funny that so few individuals or companies invest in coaches.  But they’re available to all of us.  The challenge is in knowing what skill you need to work on so you can help your coach help you.

The idea of deliberate practice is not to be able to do things automatically, without thinking.  Colvin says that the great performers do just the opposite; they do everything with utmost concentration and focus. Colvin calls this ability to observe themselves and think about what they’re doing “metacognition” (thinking about thinking.)  When average long distance runners run, for example, they try to distract themselves from the painful reality of pushing their bodies to the limit of their endurance.  Elite runners, says Colvin, does the opposite.  They will focus intensely on what they’re feeling and what adjustments they are making, and they do an intense evaluation of their performance afterward.

How can you create a deliberate practice in your life to improve performance?  Read more in Part Three.

Colvin has studied talented athletes, musicians, chess players and others considered to be extremely talented, and he reports that talent is not really what separated Tiger Woods (the one who won all the time) from your neighbor.  Colvin spends a lot of time in the first few chapters of Talent is Overrated debunking what we think we know about talent: that you’re born with it (most of us aren’t) or that great performers are simply smarter or have greater memories than the average person on the street.  Not true, he says, and goes on to make his case in readable and journalistically sound prose.

What separates the truly great from the rest of us, Colvin says, is the way they practice what they do.  First, it’s the number of hours.  Malcolm Gladwell famously stated that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master anything.  But it’s not just quantity, writes Colvin; it’s the quality of the practice that makes a difference.  He calls what he’s observed deliberate practice.  Here’s what that means.

Most of us think we practice, and Colvin himself says that he’s a perfect example of what we average humans think “practice” is. Here’s how he describes his work on his golf swing:

 “When I practice golf, I go to the driving range and get two big buckets of balls. I pick my spot, put down my bag of clubs, and tip over one of the buckets. I read somewhere that you should warm up with short irons, so I take out an 8- or 9-iron and start hitting. I also read somewhere that you should always have a target, so I pick one of the fake “greens” out on the range and aim for it, though I’m not really sure how far away it is. As I work through the short irons, middle irons, long irons, and driver, I hit quite a few bad shots. My usual reaction is to hit another ball as quickly as possible in hopes that it will be a decent shot, and then I can forget about the bad one.”

 Sound familiar?  Here’s what Colvin calls deliberate practice.  Imagine a series of concentric circles.  The inner circle represents your comfort zone (in any given skill): what you do well and feel confident about doing.  The outermost circle represents what Colvin calls your “panic” zone.  You don’t really have a shot at doing this particular task well – it’s way over your head, beyond your mastery at the moment.   The middle circle is your learning zone; it’s where you are pushing past the limits of your comfort zone and experience, and making real progress on advancing your skill level. 

Deliberate practice is not easy.  Easy is staying in your comfort zone.  Deliberate practice means that you take one skill you don’t have and work on it over and over and over and over. And then work on it some more.  You work until you’re exhausted.  And then some more.  Now you understand why most of us never do this.  Even some professional performers don’t have what it takes to reach the top of their professions.  But you can get to much better performance by using the general principles of deliberate practice.  More in Part Two on how deliberate practice can help your career.

“Things that you can’t ask in an interview are the same things you can’t research,” he said, which includes the gamut of information covering a person’s age, gender, religion, disability, national origin and race.

That said, he added that 75 percent of recruiters are required by their companies to do online research of candidates. And 70 percent of recruiters in the United States report that they have rejected candidates because of information online, he said.

So – what does that mean for you?  As you do other  end of the year cleaning and organizing, why not pay attention to your online footprint as well?  If your Facebook page seems a little too informal and social, create another profile for professional use.  Better yet, redirect your professional and job search contacts to your LinkedIn profile.  For tips on making it more effective, see this post. 

You can never really eliminate any unflattering photos or posts; everything lives on forever on the world-wide web.  But you can make sure that you’ve deleted unprofessional or unflattering photos or posts and unfriended people whose less-than-professional posts may show up in your news feed.  Get rid of pages you “like” that don’t reflect your best self, and stop “liking” snarky posts from your friends.  Everyone is connected to everyone on social networks, and you can never control who sees your activity.

A worker was at home recovering from surgery; she’d requested several days off because she wasn’t quite able to return to work.  Her daughter posted about a social event she (the mom) attended and her manager saw the post.  No harm done this time, but why take the chance?

Do a Google search on your name and see  what you find.   Are there any public record or news notices (like arrests, lawsuits or bankruptcies) for people with names similar to yours?  That may be what a recruiter sees first in a search for you.  You can’t control it, but you should be aware of it. 

Social networking is here to stay, and it can be a valuable tool in your job search.  But like most effective tools, it can have sharp edges and require training before use.

The top five unemployed majors include:

1. Clinical psychology 19.5%
2. Miscellaneous fine arts 16.2%
3. United States history 15.1%
4. Library science 15.0%
5. (tie) Military technologies; educational psychology 10.9%

The Psychology majors I know took courses because they’re fascinated by what makes people tick.  It’s not surprising that the people who responded to my request for interviews were both women; women outnumber male graduates in Psychology by a ratio of 3:1.  My cousin Stefani Haar, now a 39-year-old professional based in Wisconsin, had done some volunteer work in a group home and loved the idea that she could do something for another person. “It seemed so rewarding,” she says.  She recognized that Social Work was the more employable degree, but pursuing a master’s degree wasn’t an option early in her career.  She received almost no help from her high school counselors, but did get support from her parents, who were happy that she made the decision to pursue college (starting a little later in life at 25.) She now works in an Oncology department, providing resources and information to people who have cancer, and her training is an important part of her skill set.

Local entrepreneur and HR professional Suzanne K. Lemen started out as a business major and “absolutely hated accounting.” Her high school counselors were not helpful, either; “I was the valedictorian and I guess they thought that I had it planned.  I figured that I would either be a minister or an attorney, and the psych classes would help with both. ”  She says that she knew she had a “counseling” type personality and eventually pursued Human Resources after her Psychology degree because it gave her a chance to work on the people side of business.  

Psychology departments stress that the major build skills that employers value: critical thinking, problem solving, tolerance for ambiguity, and teamwork.  About forty percent of Psychology majors go on to achieve a graduate degree, according to a 2011 report to the State of Florida’s University System’s Board of Governors staff.  The report touted the value and rigor of the B.S. degree in Psychology, but referred repeatedly to “entry level jobs” as the workplace value of the degree. 

According to the report, only 25 percent of Psychology graduates work in the field of psychology. The report cited the national employers that specifically look for Psychology majors.  Their examples included Wal-Mart, Target, Pizza Hut and Sears.   That may explain why the Bureau of Labor Statistics quotes a salary range of $21,900 to $27,200 for 2001 psychology graduates.  The Psychology majors I know are bright, articulate and successful, and they don’t regret their choice in majors.  They know that job satisfaction is not always measured in money.  That’s a good thing.  According to CNN Money, in 2011, Business majors noticed the biggest bump of all college graduates in offers, with the average salary offer rising nearly 2% to $48,089.

Jeff Johnson, PhD., and Paula Forman, PhD. Wrote The Hourglass Solution, a book that provides Baby Boomers “a guide to the rest of your life.”  Baby Boomers have struggled during this economic downturn; they were deeper in debt than other generations, and are having a tough time finding replacements for the high income jobs they lost.  Many are facing major lifestyle changes, moving in with family members, downsizing to small homes, or becoming one-earner families for the first time in a generation.

Even Baby Boomers who are working are going through a crisis, according to the authors.  This generation (full disclosure: this is my generation) is living longer and in better health than any previous generation.  We are defined by our intense optimism (in some cases, bordering on denial) that may have been based on the fact that we felt we had complete control over the choices in our lives.

This was the first generation that could choose to get married or choose almost any other lifestyle: cohabitation, staying single without stigma, and a hundred variations in between.  We could choose when or whether to have children.  Women could choose to have a demanding career and raise a family; it used to be an either / or decision.   All this choice gave us a feeling of unlimited possibilities when we were young. But we’re no longer young (on the outside, at least.)  We’re in our fifties and sixties, and feeling that the world has changed dramatically.

Some of the social bonds that gave meaning to life are breaking down or changing forever.  During this recession, many people lost jobs, which is usually one of the defining roles in our lives.  Marriages are strained under harsh economic conditions, and childrearing duties are winding down.  In this digital age, community organizations like clubs and even churches are seeing sharply lower attendance and struggling to compete for attention and members.  We are feeling less connected than previous generations.

According to Johnson and Forman, feeling trapped in our choices is one of the leading causes of depression in Baby Boomers.  The MacArthur Foundation conducted a long term study they called Midlife in America.  The study asked middle-aged Americans about their health, habits and outlook as they face the second half of their lives.  One college graduate gave this response to the question: “What are your hopes for the future?”  She said, “To be able to make choices… Not to be in a position where you have to do something because you have no choice.” Many of us can relate.

Johnson and Forman use the hourglass metaphor to describe this pinched feeling for Boomers.  They say that we’re experiencing a high level of angst, feeling trapped by our choices so far and seeing limited options for our future.  We are trapped between aging parents who are having health problems and increasingly dependent children hit hard by the recession.  We are facing the prospect of raising our grandchildren.  We’re unable to downsize or move because our homes are underwater or in a market where sales are very low. Yuck. After reading that paragraph, you’d be depressed too, even if you weren’t before.

The good news is that Johns and Forman have advice to help Boomers explore their options for creating a new life.  “They can do it; they’ve done it at every stage of their lives,” they write. We don’t have to feel stuck; we can slip through to what the authors call “Greater Adulthood,” where we have choices about how we want to live.  And the very act of choosing, they say, will invigorate us and inspire us.  If you’re a Baby Boomer, what do you think?

Anticipation is one of life’s pleasures; we humans love having something to look forward to so much that we actually put off pleasure on purpose so we can enjoy the fact that something pleasant is coming. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld did an entire bit about being next in line at the bank. (He enjoyed it so much that he let several people in line behind him go first; being next was better than being actually served.)

The opposite of anticipation is dread. We dread events in the future that we think will cause pain or distress. The more vivid your ability to imagine the pain or distress, the more dread you’ll experience. Some people (you know who you are) have perfected the ability to envision a bleak future.

Optimists tend to believe that bad things are less likely to happen (to them, anyway.) When they are likely to happen, optimists believe that events will be less bad than anticipated. It comes as no surprise to learn that optimists and pessimists prepare for the future in very different ways.

Take the fear of a layoff, for example. Optimists will often underestimate their likelihood of being laid off. They may see the warning signs and read the same industry news as everyone else, but they interpret the data in a more positive way. While this will keep their stress level manageable, they may also not be prepared if they do lose their jobs. They may not have updated resumes or applied for positions in other divisions. On the other hand, they tend to be upbeat about their prospects for new employment.

Pessimists will prepare for a layoff, even when there’s no evidence that their job is in danger. Pessimists prepare for the worst, but they also dread events longer and more intensely. The low level stress over long periods can take a toll on their health and even make them less productive at work. If their performance or attitude declines, their fear about being laid off may become a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Every day, we must decide how to manage risk without becoming debilitated by worry and dread. Here are some thoughts on preparing for the worst while hoping for the best.

First, try to look for good news when you can. A recent study suggests that media viewers worldwide turn to particular broadcasters to affirm — rather than inform — their opinions. The study mostly applied to political opinions, but I believe in viewer bias. If you expect bad news, it’s easy to find. If you expect good news, you can find it too – these days, you just have to work a little harder. Maybe, just maybe, the reverse is also true: that if you watch enough good news, you’ll start to feel better and expect even more good news.

The same goes for office gossips. Avoid them and stick to your own work. Their opinions may or may not be informed, so don’t let them bring you down.

Step up your networking. Connect to people in other departments if you’re working; use your free time to reconnect with people you haven’t seen in a while. Your network will be your most important resource for finding your next job if you need one; don’t wait until you’re laid off to reach out.

Lastly, go on a spending diet. You can do any harm by bringing your expenses down and saving more. Financial experts recommend that you have about six months’ worth of savings in the bank in case you lose your job, and you can start on that today.

Remember that there’s room for both optimists and pessimists in the world. Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute. (courtesy: Gil Stern)

Here’s what Noreen suggests to look better on a budget:

• A hair trim is less expensive than a full haircut and can do a lot to freshen up your look – male or female.  A stylist can trim bangs or take an inch or so off your ends without doing a full shampoo and style appointment.  You can also get your hair styled at a local beauty school for a fraction of the cost of a full service salon.
• (For women) Noreen swears by lipstick; she says that a soft and flattering color will draw attention to your mouth and by extension to what you are saying.  For what it’s worth, economists agree.  A recent study indicated that people perceive women who wear lipstick to be more confident, competent, and likeable.
• For both men and women, a new accessory can freshen up an outfit.  A tie or scarf is usually a small investment, and it pays off by putting a flattering color near your face.  The right color can make you look well rested and healthier and make you feel more confident in the interview.
• Noreen says that the mistake most people make is not paying attention to details.  Shoes are cited most frequently; they should be shined, in good repair, and not showing signs of age or wear.  Most HR professionals are women, and women notice details more than men.  I’ve often observed men who forget to remove the “X” stitching at the back of a new suit coat (for the record, that’s basting that keeps the back vent shut while it’s being fitted.) 

The extra few minutes you spend in front of the mirror (in natural light, if you can) will make a difference in that all-important first impression when you walk into the interview.

Here are some more tips for looking good on a budget:

• Shop thrift stores like Goodwill – you’ll be surprised at the quality and the selection.  You can find designer clothes for pennies on the dollar. And the stigma (if there ever was one) is gone since the recession. Everyone loves chic on a budget.
• Ask for samples of expensive products that you might want to try; they’ll last for a while and keep you from wasting money on products that you won’t like or use.
• Most beauty experts agree that drugstore brands work just as well as expensive brands, so feel free to shop for the best priced items you can find.  You can also use products like shampoo at half strength (dilute with water) and get mostly the same results.

The best beauty tip costs nothing.  Drinking more water and getting more sleep is guaranteed to make you look younger, happier, and possibly thinner.  Turn off Leno and tuck yourself in an hour earlier.  The results will amaze you and may help you land your next job.

Here’s what I mean by a meaningful volunteer job.  First, make sure that the cause or the work inspires you.  It’s important that you feel connected to the work you do, whether it’s your profession or work you’re donating.  Without a connection to the mission, you may find it hard to stay committed.  Find an organization that does good work (there are many) and that seems to be well organized and well run (there are a few less of these.)  You’ll be able to tell pretty quickly by their offices and how easy it is to connect with staff to ask about volunteering. You want to work for an organization that will be able to keep you busy and doing work that matters.

When choosing a volunteer opportunity, choose one that allows you to work at your highest level, using your professional skill set.  You’ll be making a more meaningful contribution, and you’ll also be keeping your skills sharp.  If you’re a financial professional, offer fundraising or auditing services.  If there is no opportunity for you to work with the organization’s finances, offer to teach basic financial skills to the community. 

If you’re in marketing, sales, or a creative profession, organize events or work on publicity campaigns, fundraising, volunteer recruitment or the organization’s website or newsletter.  Help the executive director set up a blog or Facebook page. If you’re a management or operations professional, offer to write a procedures manual or evaluation system for volunteers, or organize files or storage facilities.  Nonprofits are stretched very thin, and they usually have a long list of projects they’d like to get to, but never have the time or resources to finish.

Make sure you have a clear understanding with the organization about the terms of your volunteer employment.  Create a schedule that allows you to spend up to eight hours a week on projects but also allows you to pursue your job search and go to interviews when necessary.  Work that focuses on results, not hours, will give you the most flexibility.  Be clear about your timeline; you are volunteering until you find full time employment.  You are free to continue your support of the cause after you go back to work, but it may take the form of financial support or attending events rather than giving hours.

Here are the benefits you’ll gain. You will fill in gaps on your resume with meaningful activity (that’s why you’ll want to use your professional experience on the volunteer job.) You’ll also earn the right to ask for a letter of reference from the organization.  You’ll be expanding your network of contacts  – and fans, if you do a great job.

And a final word about that – do a good job.  That means showing up on time, taking the job seriously, and doing your best work.  Volunteer work should be approached with the same passion and earnest effort that you’d bring to your next paid job.  The good karma you create may pay off in a great job offer this  year.

Do you have a story about how volunteering made a difference in your job search?  Email me at cmoody@worksourcefl.com

Although the military is an extreme example (you must be willing to sacrifice your life for the mission), every company has a mission that drives its leadership and its growth. If you can’t articulate it or connect with it emotionally, you are probably not going to have success or happiness in your job – no matter how well it pays.

We all need to feel that our work matters. We want to work for companies that make the world a better place in some way. The founders of the company (and hopefully, its top leadership) created and run the company with a vision and mission in mind. They’re often lofty and inspiring. Here are a few corporate examples (edited for length):

•  Our friendly, knowledgeable and professional staff will help inspire, educate and problem-solve for our customers. (Advantage Auto Parts)
• Because the product we sell is books, our aspirations must be consistent with the promise and the ideals of the volumes which line our shelves. To say that our mission exists independent of the product we sell is to demean the importance and the distinction of being booksellers. (Barnes & Noble) 
•  …To be the global energy company most admired for its people, partnership and performance. (Chevron)
• To be the safest, most progressive North American railroad, relentless in the pursuit of customer and employee excellence. (CSX)
• We are a global family with a proud heritage passionately committed to providing personal mobility for people around the world. (Ford)
• We fulfill dreams through the experience of motorcycling. (Harley Davidson)
• To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. (Nike)

If you’re working, (or looking) do you know the mission and vision of the company? Does it resonate with your personal values? Do you feel that the work you’re doing makes a difference? If you can’t answer yes to any of these questions, you may be in the wrong place, even if you’re doing a good job.

Sooner or later in your career, you’ll want to find work that is “meaningful.” What that means is different for each of us. But knowing what the company means by it is a good start.