What determines success? Talent, skill, intelligence, a good idea? Those are nice. They certainly contribute, but they are not what brings success. At best they’re indicators of the potential for success. But they are not the essential traits that make success probable.
Talent doesn’t ensure success. Unrewarded talent is legendary. As a music teacher I repeatedly saw great talent eclipsed by the effort and grit of those less talented. I believe that talent and skill can actually inhibit success. That’s right. If not put in check early on, talent can be used as an excuse. Some talented people think their ability alone will bring them the attention and success they “deserve”. Talent, and its incumbent sense of entitlement, become an excuse to be lazy.
Intelligence doesn’t ensure it. Intelligence can be stymied by details. That kind of focus to detail is what helps create great scientific discovery, but out of balance with other behaviors, success can get bogged down in the pursuit of perfection.
The rock band, ‘Boston’ had some great hits but the leader, Tom Scholz, was too much of a perfectionist, delaying the release of Boston’s second album by more than a year. He had some great recording ideas and techniques, but he got bogged down in the minutiae of making everything perfect. His perfectionist behavior was the band’s downfall. Their third album was years delayed and resulted in the record label and his manager suing him for breach of contract.
Until great ideas are fleshed out and implemented, they’re just dormant possibilities. For many years I worked with a man who was probably the best idea-creator I’ve ever been involved with. The problem was, he couldn’t successfully bring many of them to fruition. He spent so much time dreaming and perfecting his dreams, he didn’t spend enough time driving his dreams to reality. His greatest successes came when others implemented his ideas.
If we can’t count on talent or skill or intelligence or great ideas, what can we count on?
Tomorrow, we’ll look more into the traits we need to ensure success.
