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Confucius and Gladwell were Partially Correct

The Chinese philosopher Confucius famously said, “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand” referring to the effectiveness of different modes of learning. He was emphasizing that acquiring new skills is not a passive process.

You may also know the old saying “practice makes perfect” or be familiar with the “10,000 hour rule” (made famous by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers) which states that it takes 10 thousand hours of dedicated practice to master a new skill. 

Both Confucius and Gladwell are correct, up to a point. In fact, both learning paradigms are incomplete – mentoring is missing. 

To truly master a skill, hearing, seeing, doing, and practicing must be guided. You’ve got to hear and see the best technique. You’ve got to try it yourself and practice while receiving corrective feedback from an expert.

Practice without oversight is risky. You could be training yourself to make a habit of doing things the wrong (or at least sub-optimal) way. Real-time expert feedback is crucial to avoid engraining bad habits.

This is true whether you’re trying to improve your tennis swing, your problem solving, your communication, or your leadership skills. Top athletes don’t just practice randomly – they always have the guidance of a coach. Developing world-class technical and business skills is no different. 

CAEDENCE helps teams and individuals optimize their skills with direct, real-time project interventions; novel, focused workshops; and goal-oriented coaching/mentoring. We’d love to chat about how we might help your team exceed expectations.
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