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Nelson Business an imprint of Thomas Nelson Publishers Number of pages: 283 Language: English (Original Language) Language: English (Unknown) Language: English (Published)

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How to become a "talent plus person"
Review date: 2008-11-10 Rating: 10 out of 10


I have read and then reviewed most of John Maxwell's previously published books and on occasion I became concerned that he was merely recycling some of the same core concepts he first examined years ago. In this volume, he asserts that "talent is never enough." If it were, "then the most effective and influential people would always be the most talented ones but that is often not the case...Clearly talent isn't everything." That said, he hastens to add, talent is worthy off our admiration and must be perceived in the proper perspective. For Maxwell, it is "a God-given gift." For others who do not share his faith, it is nonetheless usually referred to as a "natural" as opposed to an acquired capability. All human beings possess talent but differ in terms of number, nature, and extent of what Maxwell calls "giftedness." The challenge is to maximize one's talents. In this context, I am reminded of Darrell Royal's suggestion that "potential" means "you ain't done it yet."

Maxwell has identified thirteen key choices that can be made to maximize one's talent. None is a head-snapping revelation, nor does he make any such claim. "Make these choices, and you can become a talent-plus person. If you have talent, you stand alone. If you have talent plus, you stand out." He devotes a separate chapter to each of the thirteen. Once again, as in most of his earlier works, he includes a number of especially apt quotations from what must be a substantial collection of what he has accumulated from various sources thus far. He also includes at the conclusion of each chapter a set of "Application Exercises." Maxwell fully understands that sustaining self-improvement initiatives involves a process, an extended journey, one that requires a compass, a map, and sufficient resources once begun. He is convinced (and I agree) that specificity is imperative: Goals must be written down, frequently reviewed, and when appropriate revised. Self-improvement must be results-driven. And, more often than not, improvement will be incremental. Maxwell insists that "belief lifts talent." Henry Ford once spoke to the same point when pointing out that "whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." Without faith in what is possible, why bother?

Passion energizes talent, initiative activates it, focus gives it direction, preparation positions talent properly, practices sharpens it, perseverance sustains it....and so the list of choices continues. Maxwell's key point is that all of us have a choice, actually several choices, and can determine to what extent (if any) we take full advantage of the talents we have, such as they are. He concluded with "The Last Word on Talent" (Pages 273-275), once again urging his reader to become a talent-plus person. "If you do, you will add value to yourself, add value to others, and accomplish much more than you dreamed was possible." Earlier, I expressed my concern that Maxwell would sometimes recycle some of his core concepts about leadership and human development, notably in works such as The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization. That does not happen in this book. To me, this is his most personal book thus far...even more so than is Leadership Gold: Lessons I've Learned from a Lifetime of Leading which I consider to be his most valuable work thus far.

Those who share my high regard for Talent Is Never Enough are urged to check out Geoff Colvin's Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else. Colvin set out to answer this question: "What does great performance require?" In this volume, he shares several insights generated by hundreds of research studies whose major conclusions offer what seem to be several counterintuitive perspectives on what is frequently referred to as "talent." In this context, I am reminded of Thomas Edison's observation that "vision without execution is hallucination." If Colvin were asked to paraphrase that to indicate his own purposes in this book, my guess (only a guess) is that his response would be, "Talent without deliberate practice is latent." In other words, there would be no great performances in any field (e.g. business, theatre, dance, symphonic music, athletics, science, mathematics, entertainment, exploration) without those who have, through deliberate practice developed the requisite abilities.

Colvin leaves no doubt that by understanding how a few become great, anyone can become better...and that includes his reader. This reader is now convinced that talent is a process that "grows," not a pre-determined set of skills. Also, that deliberate practice "hurts but it works." It would be "tragically constraining," Colvin asserts, for anyone to lack sufficient self-confidence because "what the evidence shouts most loudly is striking, liberating news: That great performance is not reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone." I urge those who read this brief commentary to read both Colvin's book and Maxwell's. Each is a singular, brilliant achievement.