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Ericsson et al. (2007, HBR) – Deliberate practice

The article has managed to illustrate deliberate practice well; it has shown how far an individual can be able to reach if he or she decides to practice. It cannot be measured the level a person may be able to reach. However, a person may reach a level where they only use intuition instead of practicing to be able to deal with the problem they face each day.

The article has not managed to show us the bad side of deliberate practice. We have mostly been shown what we can achieve. We do not know the practicality of it in real life. Deliberate practice can be highly impractical. Some professions may not have the time to be able to practice due to the nature of fixed schedules. Coming back closer it can also be seen that women who have multiple small children are mostly under pressure to deliver care, making it impractical for deliberate practice. This shows their recommendation lacked practical utility.

Gladwell (Dec 15, 2008) – Predicting performance

Through Gladwell’s research, we concluded that most of the college quarterbacks may not be able to replicate the performance that they had in college in the N.F.L. The individuals could not predict which quarterback may have the chance to shine. Some of the bench quarterbacks while in college sometimes become big stars in the N.F.L who exceed expectations.

There is a high level of bias in the article, as we cannot tell if the research was conducted in the required way. The individuals had a lot of evidence but they misinterpreted it getting the wrong results. They only focused on one factor to come up with the conclusion rather than having several factors. This is because they did not have a system of evaluating the competencies of the players. The study was also based on previous data, which was speculative in nature and cannot be verified. The structures for data collection were not in place. This means they could not get the results they were looking for due to the range restriction. The prediction of quarterbacks in the N.F.L could be possible if better research is conducted.

Gladwell (2008, Outliers) – Practical intelligence

There are several things that may come about with having a high IQ. Individuals with high IQ develop at a much faster rate compared to normal individuals. This can be seen by the way Chris developed. In addition, high IQ comes together with a high ability to grasp and understand things, which may be hard for others.

The article appears to be unrealistic to some point. The narrator mostly focuses on appeasing the reader and passing the message rather than having facts. This can be known as narrative fallacy. It is not logical somethings to happen such as a child speaking at six months and listening to the radio to be able to know how to read. Children can only utter a few words at six months due to undeveloped speech organs and a person cannot learn to read by listening.

Gladwell (July 22, 2002) – Talent myth

Enron a model company sourced the best talent in the market. This is due to the thought that talent was the main factor that could push a company forward and achieve the best results. However, they failed even though they followed the McKinsey and Company research.

There are several factors that lead to the demise of the company. Even though they focused on the talent, they did not focus on the other factors such as experience, which deal with productivity. They had minds only focused on talent thus they suffered from ambiguous causality. The effect of leaders also played a part since they were too confident and did not stand to be corrected. This made the company run on leaders’ judgment while talent played a small part.