The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How.

Years ago I had come across a news article describing "deliberate practice" which is basically the theory that talented individuals are not born but made through 10,000 hours or ten years of deliberate practice. The Talent Code expands upon this theory with "deep practice" or the type of practice that, if properly honed, may lead an individual to world class performance.

Much of the information presented is this book is contrary to traditional coaching or practice advice. Instead of long, continuous, repetitious, automated practice, try shorter periods of deeply analytical practice, carefully scrutinizing your actions - or better yet, have someone else do the scrutinizing. Instead of motivational speeches and yelling, coaches are to try short, succinct statements zeroing in on the performance of the individuals they are training.

The Talent Code is definitely not your typical self-help or business book. However, if you are interested in increasing your performance or hit a plateau and just want to try something different, regardless of your field - then this book is for you. Due to the theme of this book, I felt that it complements Outliers very well, which is worth checking out if you haven't done so already.

The premise of The Talent Code is straightforward. Myelin is a neurological substance that wraps itself around neurons that are specifically engaged when we learn and practice skills The thicker the sheath of myelin around these neurons, the more hardwired and precise these skills become. The Talent Code examines teaching/learning methods that ostensibly hasten and maximize the process of myelin wrapping thereby radically increasing our ability to acquire, polish and hardwire complex skills quickly and efficiently. This, Coyle claims, is the key to greatness in sports, music and academic learning.

Coyle attempts to illustrate and prove this theory with anecdotal rather than scientific evidence (although he often refers to scientific studies on myelin to validate his observations) that he has gleaned from his visits to "hotbeds of talent", as he calls them, around the globe where learning methods that stimulate myelin wrapping are used, producing inordinate numbers of exceptional athletes and musicians.


It's a fascinating subject but Coyle doesn't come close to doing it justice. His description of how myelin works is dumbed down to the point of being completely misleading and filled with omissions. For example, BDNF is the neurochemical that controls the production and application of myelin. It's importance to the learning process is vital, at least as important as myelin. But Coyle never mentions it. This would be like talking about the miracle of how a letter ends up in someone's mail box without mentioning the mail delivery person who puts it there.

Coyle also presents many of the concepts he discusses as groundbreaking and revolutionary discoveries: secret knowledge he has fetched from obscure sources and shared with us for our edification. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Take the learning process that supposedly maximizes myelin wrapping. This process involves breaking a skill down into small components and slowly perfecting each component before moving on to the next. Mistakes are focused on and eliminated through repetition. Coyle calls this process "deep practice" and asserts that it's a cutting edge concept known to and practiced by only a privileged few. The fact is that this type of practicing has long been standard among serious athletes and musicians and it's widely known that careful, precise repetition of small components of a skill during which mistakes are instantly corrected will go a long way to learning specific skills more efficiently and quickly. It's not a epiphany: it's common practice.

He also seems shocked to observe that the best teachers--who Coyle refers to as "master coaches"- focus on a student's individual strengths and weaknesses and balance perceptive, constructive criticism with sincere compliments in their approach to teaching. This is a long time keystone of efficacious teaching practice. Yet Coyle treats it like news of the discovery of a second moon orbiting Earth.

Then there's the startling revelation that students who are motivated through a deep interest in a particular subject tend to master that subject more quickly than those are lack motivation. But should we be shocked to learn that inspired students who jump into their studies with great passion that is nurtured by good teachers tend to do better than those who are apathetic about their studies? Perhaps Coyle is, but really, it's a no-brainer and no more newsworthy than "dog bites man".

Coyle also doesn't seem clear on what greatness actually is. Let's say that Coyle's premise is correct: if we spend 10,000 hours of "deep practice" honing our skills to the point, we will acquire incredible technical skills. Does this qualify as "greatness"? Absolutely not. Perfectly navigating a difficult Bach Violin Sonata at warp speed is an impressive feat. But it isn't greatness and no knowledgeable musician would ever say it was. Great musicians, and to a lesser extent, great athletes, aren't just about technical skill. They have a creative intelligence that doesn't develop simply by spending endless hours repeating the same movements over and over until mistakes are eliminated and the myelin sheath enveloping their neurons is as thick as Mike Tyson's forearm. What does Coyle make of the fact that many principal violinists in major orchestras have the same (or greater) technical skills as Joshua Bell but will never be heralded as greats because they don't possess that quality which moves a technically excellent performer into the realm of true greatness? How would he explain the greatness of Picasso and Van Gogh whose brilliance had little or nothing to do with great technique?

Coyle confuses true greatness with mediocrity if that mediocrity leads to commercial and popular success For example, he gushes on endlessly about the brilliance of Jessica Williams' teacher who has managed to get several of her students on Pop Idol. Essentially this is not much more than passing on a shallow formula that enables a young singer to sound just like everybody else in the genre. This is no small feat but it isn't greatness or anything approaching it. The same could be said for the content of The Talent Code, a book that is the literary equivalent of Pop Idol: derivative (as hard as he tries, Coyle is no Malcolm Gladwell), mediocre, formulaic and shallow--designed and marketed to sell a prodigious number of units to undiscerning consumers who are told that the book contains precepts that will set them on the path to greatness.

The concepts presented in The Talent Code as revelatory jaw dropping epiphanies are in reality simply facets of a time honored, well worn truism: work hard, practice patiently and carefully with discipline and passion and as your skills improve, consistently aim higher. You'll unquestionably improve, attain some level of mastery in your area and perhaps even excel. It's ever been and always will be thus. Will these things alone make you one of the greats? Definitely not (because true greatness involves many attributes that simply can't be gained through thousands of hours of practice). But they'll get you a lot further than reading this compilation of second hand ideas that Coyle presents as earth shattering insights into what makes someone great.

This book was a surprise. Somehow I expected something about how to spot talent, hire talent, or use talent for corporate success. What I got was a great book on learning and brain development. This well written and well researched book discusses the power of deep practice on the Myelin coating in the brain. Myelin is the insulating sheath surrounding nerve enabling them to conduct impulses between the brain and other parts of the body. The electrical current must travel without being corrupted, scrambled, diverted from the proper path, or leaking energy. Therefore, myelin is like the layer of plastic insulation surrounding an interior wire, which is the nerve.
Myelin increases when we engage in deep practice. Much like Gladwell discusses in Outliers, success comes after thousands of hours of good correct practice. This intense practice occurs when we are in a zone of focus, repeating correct actions over and over again, stopping and correcting mistakes, and repeating correct actions again. This grows and thickens that myelin over the nerves allowing for faster more accurate responses.

Before we can practice we need motivation, which he calls ignition. He also discusses why some motivation sticks and some does not using examples from a variety of sports and educational settings. This is not the world of pep-talks, but of inspiration that comes from the HSE...the Holy "Shoot" Effect. We suddenly see someone just like us who won a golf tournament and realize that maybe we could play golf well. Coyle give numerous examples that support the HSE.
Finally Coyle points out the importance of good coaching. He reports on many studies on coaching and teaching that change our notions of the "sage on the stage" and encourage us to be a "guide on the side" to be effective. He found that short, precise and intense feedback is more effective than lectures. He uses examples from education citing the KIPP and KEEP projects, as well as more sports.

This is a great book. I was inspired to return to my piano and work on my novel. The more I practice the more myelin I grow and the better I get. Intense focused practice in the sweet zone is the secret. See perfection, measure my distance from it, reach, repeat.
Great book for educators and coaches, or anyone interested in brain research or cognitive psychology. Great book to get anyone motivated to try harder!

Daniel Coyle's book is well researched. He has spent a good deal of time at these "Talent" hotbeds and dug for the keys to prodigies. Like other books before his, he has bad news for those who believe its "nature" and not "nurture." Because it's all about hard work.

1. Deep Practice - there is an unfamiliar rhythm or method to practice that makes a "genius"

2. Ignition - This is where the book gets a little vague, I thought. Vague because this is about motivation and keeping after the deep practice after a person had started to pursue their skill set or chosen field. However, there wasn't much insight into how they kept their motivation.

3. Master Coaching - This is probably the key to pushing through a skill set and keeping Ignition. But more importantly this form of coaching is highly important to the overall mastery and ascent to greatness. This is where the talent hotbeds come into play and the master coaches who run them. This subject is covered very well in The Talent Code. Anyone who is interested in this area of development will find the information here useful.

Throughout the book Coyle writes about the myelination process and how it is the key to greatness in any field. The neuroscience have shown us the the answer to becoming great at what we choose to work hard at.

I recommend this book as a quick read and it is indexed and referenced well for any further digging you may want to do on this topic.

This book was a surprise. Somehow I expected something about how to spot talent, hire talent, or use talent for corporate success. What I got was a great book on learning and brain development. This well written and well researched book discusses the power of deep practice on the Myelin coating in the brain. Myelin is the insulating sheath surrounding nerve enabling them to conduct impulses between the brain and other parts of the body. The electrical current must travel without being corrupted, scrambled, diverted from the proper path, or leaking energy. Therefore, myelin is like the layer of plastic insulation surrounding an interior wire, which is the nerve.

Myelin increases when we engage in deep practice. Much like Gladwell discusses in Outliers, success comes after thousands of hours of good correct practice. This intense practice occurs when we are in a zone of focus, repeating correct actions over and over again, stopping and correcting mistakes, and repeating correct actions again. This grows and thickens that myelin over the nerves allowing for faster more accurate responses.

Before we can practice we need motivation, which Coyle calls ignition. He also discusses why some motivation sticks and some does not using examples from a variety of sports and educational settings. This is not the world of pep-talks, but of inspiration that comes from the a wow effect he calls HSE. We suddenly see someone just like us who won a golf tournament and realize that maybe we could play golf well. Coyle give numerous examples that support the HSE.

Finally Coyle points out the importance of good coaching. He reports on many studies on coaching and teaching that change our notions of the "sage on the stage" and encourage us to be a "guide on the side" to be effective. He found that short, precise and intense feedback is more effective than lectures. He uses examples from education citing the KIPP and KEEP projects, as well as more sports.
This is a great book. I was inspired to return to my piano and work on my novel. The more I practice the more myelin I grow and the better I get. Intense focused practice in the sweet zone is the secret. See perfection, measure my distance from it, reach, repeat.

Great book for educators and coaches, or anyone interested in brain research or cognitive psychology. Great book to get anyone motivated to try harder!