Talent is overrated - Geoff Colvin

This was an excellent book. I guess I'm partly biased because what this book talks about gels a lot with what I believe in.

The book spends quite a big section on convincing the reader that excellence is built more through hard work than talent. Since I'm already a convert on this, I'll jump to what I feel is essentially the tools to becoming great.

1. In one word, the tool is called deliberate practice.
   
2. Identify the elements that make up the complex task. To start, one needs to know exactly what one wants to achieve and then break the destination into smaller "practiceable" pieces that one just keeps plugging at. For example, if there is a particular stroke that one wants to master in tennis, one just keeps practicing the same shot, ball after ball after ball.
3. Building vast amounts of domain knowledge. Build up domain knowledge and think critically about the knowledge. Much like chess, one can speed-learn by mugging loads of information about the topic. At the same time, to be able to tap on these knowledge, at a certain pt, one has to consolidate and understand it critically. The unfortunate thing is that many of us work as if domain knowledge is a by-product. The right way to do it is to read up all about your area of expertise even before and during your work.
   
4. Looking at "textbook" answers. The chess model - which is much like the case study model. Think of how you'd perform a certain task (or make a move) and then compare it with the model answer, and keep doing so until one masters the basics properly.
5. Building "fitness". To make the entire training whole, there are two more angles of attack adopted from sports. There are basic skills that are fundamental to all sports and training them will improve you no matter what. This includes speaking skills, your base level of energy, your level of focus, your working memory, etc.
6. Learning to react quickly to unpredictable situations. This is the second part of the sports model - to learn how to react to unpredictable situations, which always happens, one puts oneself in these situations (or simulated ones) to practice until one's reactions becomes instinctive.
7. Tonnes of reflection. Start each day or project with clear objectives and then take time to reflect at work after each major project or each day. This transforms one's working life into a major set of deliberate practices, rather than just going through motion.

This book has certainly reinforced and changed some aspects of how I'm going to work and function for the next few years. Awesome and timely book :)