The Relationship Between Luck, Hard Work, Success (and Consulting!)
Why do some people succeed far more than others?
This is the primary question asked by author Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers: The Story of Success.
The book argues that most people mistakenly believe that successful people are primarily products of a high intelligence and lots of talent. But there are many other variables at play, ranging from their date of birth, to their family’s cultural background, to sheer luck.
But the most important determinant is hard work. In the Chapter called “The 10,000 Hour Rule”, Gladwell states that it takes 10,000 hours to master a subject - no matter the skill, whether it be baseball, a musical instrument, or a computer programming language. There are no shortcuts to this. Hard work is the only proven way to achieve mastery.
As an example we have Bill Gates who easily invested 10,000 hours of computer time before he even reached college. This was in 1973, a time when most top universities didn’t even have computer labs. Before they became famous, The Beatles played at a nightclub in Germany for a couple of years, over 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. This meant they accumulated more live stage time (1,200 performances) in a couple years than most bands get in a lifetime.
In other words, they both took advantage of opportunities before them to earn their 10,000 hours of experience. Obviously, they also had the ambition and drive to actually complete those 10,000 hours. You might begin to wonder if “talent” is nothing more than loving something so much that you don’t mind spending endless hours doing it. Perfection of that skill is wonderful a by-product.
So to be extraordinarily successful, you need both a little luck and a lot of hard work. People can interpret these stories differently. The thing to remember is that between hard work and luck, you can control only one. Good luck is nothing more than a prepared mind meeting the right opportunity. To convert it you must seize that opportunity and take action.
If you don’t put in the hours, there is essentially zero chance of success. If you do, then when opportunity hits, you can flourish. Gladwell goes on to share the Chinese proverb that states “No one who rises before dawn 360 days a year fails to make his family rich.”
Another interesting example of investing the time to achieve mastery comes from the M Squared Consultant Network. The average M Squared consultant has more than 15 years of professional experience and over 5 years of consulting in their chosen business discipline. This extraordinary level of targeted expertise is what allows M Squared Consulting to deliver results at an exceptional value to our clients.
