Effort Counts Twice

I was recently given a New York Times bestselling book titled “GRIT: The power of passion and perseverance” and it is easy to see why it is a bestseller. I am only a few chapters into the book, but it has given me so much to think about I felt like I needed to write about/ digest this idea before I could read further. In summary, GRIT is a study performed by Angela Duckworth to find what really drives success. Duckworth hypothesizes that it is not talent that drives success, but rather a combination of passion and persistence. The book begins with her taking us into the field while she interviews recruits during their first days at West Point. During these interviews Duckworth attempts to predict which recruits will finish the program and which will drop out using her newly created “GRIT Scale”. Duckworth discovers that high scores on her GRIT Scale, which measures persistence, are more highly correlated with cadets finishing West Point than a high score on the academies Whole Candidate Test which measures how easily a candidate should master all the skills necessary to be a good officer. The book has been very interesting so far, however there is one idea that I just can’t stop thinking about.

This equation for achievement shows up in chapter 3 on page 44:

TALENT X EFFORT = SKILL          SKILL X EFFORT = ACHIEVEMENT

Duckworth goes on to describe the story of a pottery artist that has been making pots for nearly his entire life. When he first started making pots they were decent, but not great (Talent). He had to make/ sell a lot of pots (Effort) to pay the bills. While he was putting in the effort to mass produce pots, the pots he was making became better quality (Talent x Effort = Skill) and therefore sold for a higher price as he continued to make better quality pots (Skill x Effort = Achievement).

EFFORT COUNTS TWICE!!

You need to apply your skill with effort to reach whatever goal you are trying to achieve. Whether it be running a marathon, or simply being more productive. Putting forth the effort, however great or small, is necessary to reach achievement. It takes effort to go out and run mile after mile to prepare for a marathon. It takes effort to set your alarm clock so you can wake up a little earlier and get your day started. This effort not only helps push towards achievement but builds skill because effort counts twice. Running mile after mile makes you a better runner. Consciously focusing on little ways to be more productive makes you a more productive person. However talented a person may be, effort is still necessary. Talent without effort isn’t skill, it’s just potential. Skill without effort doesn’t lead to achievement, but instead is a wasted opportunity.

TALENT WITHOUT EFFORT IS POTENTIAL.

SKILL WITHOUT EFFORT IS WASTED OPPORTUNITY

Duckworth’s Grit Scale was a better indicator of cadet success at West Point because it measures the effort portion of this achievement equation while the Whole Candidate Test measures only the Talent portion of the Skill equation. While being “a natural” is great, effort, or grit, is still needed to get to achievement. I believe this study by Angela Duckworth is a great example of why you should never count out the underdog. There are tons of examples through sports of people who were definitely not expected to be the best doing extraordinary things. As a baseball guy the first story that comes to mind is Mike Piazza. Mike Piazza went from being the 1,390th player chosen in the MLB draft in 1988 to hitting more home runs as a catcher than anyone in baseball history (397) and a Hall of Famer. Another great example from sports is Tom Brady, the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL draft and 5 time Super Bowl Champion quarterback. Here is a post of him describing his not so flattering scouting report:   

I’d say his report wasn’t much of an indication of what was to come.

This just goes to show that a person is more than measurables. You can’t judge a person solely by how fast they run 40 yards, how many times they bench 225lbs, or their SAT scores. These tests measure what a person can do, but don’t show you what a person is made of. With the tiniest bit of talent and an unmatched work ethic anything can be accomplished.

I am thoroughly enjoying GRIT by Angela Duckworth and highly recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting read.

GRIT: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.