Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else(ISBN=9781591842941)

　　Asked to explain why a few people truly excel, most of us offer one of two answers. The first is hard work. Yet we all know plenty of hard workers who have been doing the same job for years or decades without becoming great. The other possibility is that the elite possess an innate talent for excelling in their field. We assume that Mozart was born with an astounding gift for music, and Warren Buffett carries a gene for brilliant investing. The trouble is, scientific evidence doesn't support the notion that specific natural talents make great performers.
　　According to distinguished journalist Geoff Colvin, both the hard work and natural talent camps are wrong. What really makes all the difference is a highly specific kind of effort-"deliberate practice"- that few of us pursue when we're practicing golf or piano or stockpicking.
　　Based on a wide array of scientific research, Talent Is Overrated shares the secrets of extraordinary performance and shows how to apply these principles. It features the stories of extraordinary people who never stopped challenging themselves and who achieved world- class greatness through deliberate practice- including Benjamin Franklin, comedian Chris Rock, football star Jerry Rice, and top CEOs Jeffrey Immelt and Steven Ballmer.

　　Geoff Colvin, Fortune's senior editor at large, writes its popular column, "Value Driven". He lectures widely and is the regular lead moderator for the Fortune Global Forum. He also offers daily business commentary on the CBS Radio Network. His latest book is The Upside of the Downturn (Portfolio, June 2009)

One  The Mystery 
　Great performance is more valuable than ever
　but where does it really come from?
Two  Talent Is Overrated 
　Confronting the unexpected facts about innate abilities
Three  How Smart Do You Have to Be? 
　The true role of intelligence and memory
　in high achievement
Four  A Better Idea 
　An explanation of great performance
　that makes sense
Five  What Deliberate Practice Is and Isn't 
　For starters, it isn't what most of us do
　when we're "practicing."
Six  How Deliberate Practice Works 
  The specific ways it changes us
　and how that makes all the difference

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