I just finished Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers. And, as I did with Blink and The Tipping Point, I enjoyed every page. In fact, I feel a little guilty each time I finish one of his books--there's so much research and thought in them that I feel guilty pouring through it so quickly...
While there are tons of takeaways in Outliers, the 10,000 HOUR RULE sticks with me most for the ad industry. And since it's mid-April I think the one group who needs to take this rule to heart immediately are graduating college seniors...
I've told students for years to go and work for the most influential agency (or business) they can find when they graduate. Working at leading, influential places brings three huge benefits right from the start:
1. Exposure to mass amounts of premium work.
2. Introduction to mass amounts of premium talent.
3. Working longer hours.
Wait... Longer hours? Why would that be beneficial? Who wants to spend more time in the office?
The 10,000 HOUR RULE proposes that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of practice to achieve true expertise in something. Put simply, the more time you spend doing the work, the more you practice. And the more you practice, the better you become. Applying this rule is key throughout a career, but I feel it's especially important for those who are just starting.
To illustrate the point, let's consider two hypothetical college grads entering into advertising: Nick and Chris.
Nick is very smart. So smart that he's figured out he doesn't have to work late every night to be considered a good employee. He believes that "life experiences" when you're 22 are more valuable than being in an office.
Chris, on the other hand, is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done and exceed expectations. He stays as late as needed every night.
Let's add up some estimated hours...
Nick, age 22
Daily hours: 9am-ish - 5pm-ish, with an hour-ish lunch
Total hours of actual work per week: 35
Hours per year: 1,820
Time to get to 10,000 hours: 5.5 years
Chris, age 22
Daily hours: 8am-ish - 7pm-ish, lunch at his desk or at the agency
Total hours of actual work per week: 55
Hours per year: 2,860
Time to get to 10,000 hours: 3.5 years
So Chris reaches 10,000 hours when he's 25 years old. He's spent three-and-a-half years at a top shop and is a finely tuned young exec. Nick, on the other hand, doesn't hit the 10,000 hour mark until he's 27. (Which, by the way, is the average age men get married in the US.) In career expertise, Chris is a full two years ahead of Nick even though they are the same age and entered the workforce at the exact same time.
Further consider the fact that the average employee stays at an agency around three years... So if both these guys went out and interviewed for the same job when they were 25, odds are Chris would take it.
Chris has lapped Nick on several levels... And Nick isn't quite sure why. But the fact is he just didn't work hard enough.
"The thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That's it. And what's more, the people at the very top don't work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder." -from Outliers
