Persistence
Jim Harris in Books, Data Quality tagged Data Governance, Master Data Management, Philosophy Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 8:00PM In a recent eLearningCurve MDM and Data Governance webinar, Dan Power quoted former U.S. President Calvin Coolidge:
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
Although I had heard this excellent quote many times, it perhaps resonated with me more this particular time because I recently finished reading the latest Daniel Pink book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.
In one of the many case studies cited in the book, Pink recounts the findings of an academic study performed to determine why some (approximately one in twenty) prospective cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, drop out before completing the mandatory seven weeks of basic training during the summer before what would be their first year at the academy.
The study tried to isolate the personal attributes that made the difference, such as physical strength, athleticism, intelligence, leadership ability, or perhaps a well-balanced combination of these factors traditionally considered to be crucial characteristics.
However, what the research discovered was that although all of the traditional characteristics were important, not one of them was the best predictor of success. Instead, it was the prospective cadets’ rating on a non-cognitive, non-physical trait known as grit, defined as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals,” which truly made all the difference.
In related research examining the most accurate predictor of the academic performance of West Point Cadets, grit was once again found to be the determining factor in success. As the researchers thoughtfully concluded:
“Whereas the importance of working harder is easily apprehended, the importance of working longer without switching objectives may be less perceptible.
In every field, grit may be as essential as talent to high accomplishment.”
This conclusion is similar to the “10,000-Hour Rule” explained by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers: The Story of Success, where he claims the key to success in any field is largely a matter of practicing its primary task for approximately 10,000 hours. However, Gladwell also acknowledges that success is far more complicated, and often relies on variables beyond our control.
I have written many times before about the common misperception of experts and their apparently easy success.
Experts are often misunderstood as being somehow more naturally talented, more intelligent, or better educated than the rest of us. When in truth, expertise is largely about experience, which as Oscar Wilde wrote “is simply the name we give our mistakes.”
Experts are simply those among us who have made the most mistakes, but persevered and persisted in spite of those failures, because experts see mistakes, as James Joyce wonderfully wrote, as our personal “portals of discovery.”
One of our most difficult challenges in life is the need to acknowledge the favor that our faults do for us. Although experience is the path that separates knowledge from wisdom, the true wisdom of experience is the wisdom gained from failure.
However, expertise in any discipline is more than an accumulation of mistakes, birthdays, and 10,000 hours. Expertise is not a static state that once achieved, signifies a comforting conclusion to all that grueling effort, which required so much perseverance.
All of this returns me to the misperceived connection between expertise and success.
Just as talent, intelligence, and education are no guarantee of success, neither are experience, perseverance, and expertise. As much as we would like to believe that our personal success is dependent solely upon ourselves alone, the harsh reality is more often that not, variables beyond our control, such as luck, timing, and circumstance, will control our destiny as much as we do.
Please don’t misunderstand—I agree with President Coolidge that “persistence and determination are omnipotent” because we do have complete control over the effort we choose to expend.
However, the most challenging mistake for us to overcome is when we choose entitlement over persistence.
Talent, intelligence, education, experience, and (perhaps paradoxically) expertise can all bring a sense of entitlement. In other words, we can feel that we possess the necessary attributes and/or have completed the necessary steps required to be successful.
Therefore, we must ultimately accept that there is absolutely nothing that can guarantee our success—but far more important, we must also accept that the only guarantee of our failure would be to abandon our persistence.
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Reader Comments (8)
Jim,
Only you can start a post about MDM and DG and wind up quoting Joyce and Wilde.
I didn't know about the quote “experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.” Good stuff.
I was watching Charlie Rose with Nathan Myhrvold. The latter was describing that the key to innovation and invention is framing the question in a way that yields an answer, to paraphrase Einstein. Same principle, I'd argue.
Great post.
ps
Great post Jim,
Two memories come to mind while reading this, the first is that of my high school math teacher repeating the word PERSEVERE over and over so that we'd work through our problems and feel a sense of accomplishment when we finally did in fact figure out the answers.
The second is a more recent conversation which I had with my UNIX/LINUX system administrator, his comment:
“Real heroes have the scars to prove it.”
So simple - but a very powerful statement indeed.
Best...Rich
One of Coolidge's greatest feats was to pass on this quote, for it is the belief that success is due to perseverance that should be the foundation of society.
Instead the illusion of greatness through bestowed gifts has enforced the caste system of the Haves and the Have Nots.
Consider what you may have done for 10,000 hours and if it isn't your profession or other passion, you are in the wrong business. If you have spent less that 10,000 dedicated hours - focused, intense learning and practice time - on your profession then perhaps you are not as great at it as you could be.
Given the example of expertise per Gladwell, one should be a parent/caregiver for at least 7-10 years part-time before considering themselves truly qualified, "experts."
No wonder so many impromptu caretakers and parents feel overwhelmed and inadequate. They are not skilled enough to be hired as an expert for the most important jobs of their life, caring for their loved ones. Disappointing for a career but devastating for a life.
Knowing how to break down the work and tasks that go into your chosen goal as well as practicing them and seeking the knowledge of others in the field are a proven path to success. Grit keeps one moving down that path and one foot in front of the other will always lead one to a destination. Impatience has wiped this truism from the collective perception of success and does us all a disservice.
A life's work is not always over a lifetime. It could be done a few times over with one person or span a generation or two with many people. A person may have multiple careers or reincarnations of themselves professionally. This does not invalidate the concept of perseverance.
We can all exhibit grit and apply ourselves to our work, to each task as if it was a golden step on that path to success. Integrity and grit, long underestimated, are making a comeback...one golden step at a time.
Very timely and provocative (as usual) post, Jim.
I would add a caveat, if I may.
There is a fine line between perseverance (which as your article and reference says is a key ingredient for success) and perseveration, which is akin to Einstein's quote about doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.
The field of psychiatry views perseveration as a symptom of psychosis as in: "Are you crazy, Wilber! If God wanted men to fly he would have given us wings." Every field of endeavor I know of is filled with 'experts' (those individuals who have made every mistake in a very narrow field) who tell us that it can't be done. For every expert, there are numerous friends, relatives - and especially spouses - entreating us to get a real job.
Fortunately (I'm getting into this quote thing) as George Bernard Shaw said:
“Progress depends on unreasonable people.”
I believe that somewhere in the persistence mix is either an attainable goal, or a vision of an attainable goal as a direct result of a leap of faith based on a piece of a missing pattern. Combining Malcom Gladwell's two books, 'Outlier' and 'Blink' , people who seem to get it in an intuitive leap are the same ones who persist when experts, spouses and others advise them to stop. The work required to get to the 'outlier' level of proficiency is tied to the recognition of the patterns that 'make things work'. By extension, to these people sometimes those patterns are missing a component that would result in the opening of a whole new vista. Einstein is a good example of someone who 'saw further' and worked his butt off to make it happen.
In my experience, when you combine that kind of prior effort with that kind of recognition of a missing piece, persistence becomes the muse that drives us to completion.
John
@Phil — Thanks for sharing the interesting combined insight from Myhrvold and Einstein.
@Rich — Thanks for sharing the stories of your inspirational math teacher and your battle-hardened system administrator.
@Corinna — Thanks for successfully sharing your expert insight. I certainly hope you are right about integrity and grit making a comeback, and I definitely agree that impatience often undermines success and does us a terrible disservice.
@John — Thanks for your excellent and equally thought-provoking (as usual) comment. Many who do achieve notable success in a particular field, often have their eventual success prefaced by experts in the same field telling them that they, and/or their ideas, are idiotic. It would be easy to give up when failure combines with such derision from not only peers (and as you noted, friends and relatives) but also experts whose viewpoints we admire and whose advice we would normally seek. Although happy accidents and blind faith that eventually our efforts will help us succeed can sometimes work, I agree with you that it is far more fruitful to combine our recognition of a missing piece in the puzzling patterns of possibility, with our unrelenting persistence, in order to achieve both expertise and success.
John,
I believe that somewhere in the persistence mix is either an attainable goal, or a vision of an attainable goal as a direct result of a leap of faith based on a piece of a missing pattern. Combining Malcom Gladwell's two books, 'Outlier' and 'Blink' , people who seem to get it in an intuitive leap are the same ones who persist when experts, spouses and others advise them to stop. The work required to get to the 'outlier' level of proficiency is tied to the recognition of the patterns that 'make things work'. By extension, to these people sometimes those patterns are missing a component that would result in the opening of a whole new vista. Einstein is a good example of someone who 'saw further' and worked his butt off to make it happen.
Sage advice! I'll have to borrow that Shaw quote!
Thanks, Phil - I appreciate the compliments from both you and Jim...Here is the complete quote in case you are interested.
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” — George Bernard Shaw
Great post and comments about one of my most favorite subjects!
One only need look at their children to see the connection between their perseverance and achieving what they desire (the car keys...). "Sure, take my car, take the house, just stop asking me!!"
One of my most favorite quotes is:
“By perseverance the snail reached the ark” — Lao Tzu
Thanks!