Grit: The Energy of Ardour and Perseverance

Why talent counts, but well directed effort counts twice: A roadmap to deep expertise and meaningful achievement
This is a wonderful journey at the cutting edge of the psychology of achievement. The author, Angela Duckworth, is the lead researcher of a 14-year long (and counting) intensive and focused effort to reverse engineer top performers. In this book she shares with readers the characteristic that distinguishes the excellent from the merely good, and how to foster it.
It turns out that people who excel in their profession, whether athletes or salespeople, teachers or students, Special Forces officers or Spelling Bee finalists, all share one common trait: grit, defined as passion and perseverance for long term goals. Grit is the ability to keep going despite setbacks and to work hard at something for a very long period of time.
The author clearly distinguishes between the psychology of achievement (i.e., the traits shared by high-achievers) and success (which involves many other factors, such as opportunity and sometimes just plain luck). Duckworth also acknowledges the role of talent, which she includes in her formula for achievement (yes, there is such a thing in the book!) — she just thinks that talent without effort does not take you very far; and she has data to show that less talented but more gritty people in the long run outperform talented but non-gritty people.
The book is structured in three parts: the first part explains what grit is and why it matters; the second part explains how to grow grit from the inside out (this would be the self-help part; more specifically, you will learn how to develop grit by going through the following stages: developing interests that later can grow into passions; practicing consistently to get better; finding a pro-social purpose for your efforts; and cultivating optimism); the third part suggests how to grow grit from the outside in (so it is aimed at parents, coaches, teachers and organizational leaders; with chapters such as “parenting for grit” and “a culture of grit”).
The book shines in accurately presenting research findings while making them interesting and relevant to readers through many personal stories, examples, and literally dozens of interviews to psychologists, sport coaches, athletes, and top performers (from chefs and pottery makers to activists and CEOs) — so much so that the book feels like a team effort that gives flesh and blood to the science.
In an age when bestsellers are based on two or three studies, it is refreshing to see someone work so grittily for more than a decade piling up study after study (see: […]) on the same topic before writing a book; and whereas many experts struggle to explain their insights to laypeople, Angela Duckworth succeeds brilliantly with this well-written and engaging book.
In conclusion, if you are looking for a self-help quick fix or a “life hack” you will be disappointed: this book is about the daily grind in the long-term pursuit of excellence. But if you are looking for science-based ways to help you thrive and make something out of your life; or if you are a leader, a coach or an educator who wants to foster a culture of excellence where human potential is nurtured and developed — then this book is for you.

Army has been educating their finest at West Point military academy
For decades the U.S. Army has been educating their finest at West Point military academy. Only about half of the 2,500 applicants meet its rigorous academic and physical standards, which are as high as the elite universities. Nearly all men and women are ‘varsity athletes’. The first few months, known as the Beast, are the most physically and emotionally demanding of the four-year course. All admitted candidates have been selected, based on the ‘Whole Candidate Score’ test.
However, those who stayed and those who dropped out during the Beast, had indistinguishable scores. Both the Army and Dr. Duckworth were perplexed by the question: “Who spends two years trying to get into a place and then drops out in the first two months?”
What emerged from Duckworth’s work on the problem was the Grit Scale—a test that measures the extent to which you approach life with grit. Grit turned out to be an astoundingly reliable predictor of who made it through and who did not.
The Grit Scale was tested with sales people, among others, who are subject to the daily hardship of rejection. In an experiment involving hundreds of men and women who sold vacation time-share, Grit predicted who stayed and who left. Similar results were found in other demanding professions such as education.
“I came to a fundamental insight that would guide my future work,” explains Duckworth. “Our potential is one thing. What we do with it is quite another.”
Natural talent as the explanation of success, according to sociologist, Professor Dan Chambliss, “is perhaps the most pervasive lay explanation we have for athletic success.” However, his research led him to the conclusion that the minimal talent needed to succeed, is lower than most of us think.
“Without effort, your talent is nothing more than your unmet potential. Without effort, your skill is nothing more than what you could have done but didn’t. With effort, talent becomes skill, and effort makes skill productive.”
Grammy Award–winning musician and Oscar-nominated actor, Will Smith, says of himself: “I’ve never really viewed myself as particularly talented. Where I excel is a ridiculous, sickening work ethic.”
Too many of us, it appears, give up far too early and far too often.
Duckworth’s research has led her to the conclusion that Grit has four components: interest, practice, passion, and hope.
According to the meta-analysis of sixty studies conducted over the past sixty years, employees whose personal interests fit with their occupations, do their jobs better, are more helpful to their co-workers, and stay at their jobs longer.
Of course, just because you love something doesn’t mean you will excel at it. Many people are poor at the things they love. Many of the Grit paragons interviewed by Duckworth spent years exploring several different interests before discovering the one that eventually came to occupy all of their waking thoughts. “While we might envy those who love what they do for a living, we shouldn’t assume that they started from a different place than the rest of us. Chances are, they took quite some time figuring out exactly what they wanted to do with their lives,” she explains.
The second requirement of Grit is practice. Numerous interviews of Grit paragons revealed that they are all committed to continuous improvement. There are no exceptions. This continuous improvement leads to a gradual improvement of their skills over years.
“That there’s a learning curve for skill development isn’t surprising. But the timescale on which that development happens is,” Duckworth discovered. Anders Ericsson’s work with a German music academy revealed that those who excelled, practised about 10,000 hours over ten years before achieving elite levels of expertise. The less accomplished practised half as much.
Ericsson’s crucial insight is not that experts practice much more, but that they practice very deliberately. Experts are more interested in correcting what they do wrong rather than what they did right, until conscious incompetence becomes unconscious competence.
Dancer Martha Graham says “Dancing appears glamorous, easy, delightful. But the path to the paradise of that achievement is not easier than any other. There is fatigue so great that the body cries even in its sleep. There are times of complete frustration. There are daily small deaths.”
Gritty people do more deliberate practice than others.
The third component of Grit is purpose, the desire to contribute to the well-being of others. If Grit starts with a relatively self-oriented interest to which self-disciplined practice is added, the end point is integrating that work with an other-centred purpose.
“The long days and evenings of toil, the setbacks and disappointments and struggle, the sacrifice—all this is worth it because, ultimately, their efforts pay dividends to other people,” Duckworth identified. Most Gritty people saw their ultimate aims as deeply connected to the world beyond themselves.
The bricklayer may have a job laying bricks so he can pay for food. He may later see bricklaying as his career, and later still as a calling to build beautiful homes for people. It is this last group who seem most satisfied with their jobs and their lives overall, and missed at least a third fewer days of work than those with merely a job or a career as opposed to a calling.
The final component of Grit is hope, but a different kind to the “hopium” many embrace. It is the expectation that our own efforts can improve our future. The hope that creates Grit has nothing to do with luck, so failure is a cue to try harder, rather than as confirmation that one lacks ability.
The book also includes chapters on developing Gritty children, sports teams, and companies.
It is a book for those who relish solid research and well-reasoned conclusions. It is highly motivational, in a mature and thoughtful way. Get the book. Work it, and share the knowledge. It could be transformative.
Readability Light —+- Serious
Insights High +—- Low
Practical High -+— Low
*Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy and is the author of Strategy that Works.

EXCELENTE

On more than 400 pages or 13 chapters, the author takes on a journey on what „grit“ means, on how to grow it and apply it to your life. The first part of the book explains what grit means, that talent can distract while effort counts twice. Mrs. Duckworth explains how to measure grit, also scientifically, that great deeds come out of consistent practices, exercises etc. which is often experienced as „talent“ (see great achievements in sports), which makes it easier to process for the spectator.
Being a parent of two young kids, I especially liked the third part on how growing grit inside your house / family / surroundings, how to train your kids, not being the enabler for them, but supporting them in their decision and coaxing them on following a regular hobby (like playing an instrument, doing certain sports…), especially setting rules on keeping this activity for a certain amount of time.
What I really liked about the book is the connection to other literature I read in the past years, e.g. the the often cited growth mindset (read the book by Dr. Carol Dweck, you can also check my review), consistent habit building, leaving your comfort zone, constant life-long learning etc. This approach might resp. will collide with certain mindsets like the famous „work-life-balance“ (which lies, as perceived by a lot of persons on the life side instead of being a dynamic balance), but I am a great fan of the thoughts presented. I really liked the very detailed notes section, the writing style, the small personal anecdotes of Mrs. Duckworth, I can totally recommend this book.