Lessons from the Outliers

Outliers are those who stand out

Is it true that success is determined entirely by the individual? What really are the ingredients to make highly successful rock stars, billionaires, entrepreneurs, lawyers, or athletes? Aren’t you guaranteed to succeed if you are very very clever, or born in a rich family? These are the questions that ‘Outliers’, a book by Malcolm Gladwell, attempted to shed some light to, and in the process he discovered:

• Why Asians are brilliant at Maths
• That it is possible to have a very high IQ but struggle to get what you want from other people
• That there is a specific number of practice hours one must dedicate to one’s craft in order to be successful.
• That there is no such thing as a self-made man, because success is a function of many variables, many of which are outside of an individual’s control
• That our parents, the community we are a part of, our families, cultural background, the historical context in which we are born, the dominant values of the society we belong, and our ancestral heritage, etc. have so much more to do with our success than we give them credit for.

‘Outliers’ is defined as something that is classed differently from a main or related body; A statistical observation that is markedly differently in value from the others in the sample.

Outliers, in the context of this book, are individuals who are extremely deviant, whose accomplishments can be categorized as so far from ordinary to the point that their cases are so baffling.

Gladwell invites us to think about the determinants of success in an entirely new way. Is it possible that who we are, how we act, how we live our lives, and hence the level of success we achieve – is a function of so many other highly influential things as well as our individual merit? Is it possible that the choices we make and the actions we take are merely parts of a much bigger equation, a much larger system of interlinked elements that ultimately produce the quality and depths of our achievements?

10,000 Hours: The Rule to Success

Gladwell illustrated in detail how it’s mainly those who are “given the chance” who suceeds. Some succeed not because they are the most talented, or the most clever, or the richest (although they certainly helped a lot) – but because they have had more practice, because they had the chance to develop their skills, because they have had more support, and more relevant experience. People who excel are those who have been given the chance to put in roughly 10,000 hours of hard work, of training, and who had received a high quality of learning and mentoring.

This was a recurring theme in the stories of Bill Gates, Bill Joy, The Beatles, Mozart, and the professional Hockey players in Canada as told in Outliers.  They succeeded because they were given access to specific opportunities that allowed them to put in 10,000 hours of practice to develop their skills. Yes, they were very lucky indeed, but could it be that “lucky” simply means being ready? Of being competent enough to be the  person in the most suitable position to spot and grab a golden opportunity when it arrives?

Isn’t this something we already knew? Of course, being successful and talented and knowledgeable will help you succeed; of course, being born to a privileged life and thus have access to a high quality of education will equip one with tools necessary to succeed; of course, one must know how to seize the right opportunity at the right time, etc. The message of the stories however, is to reflect about how many more Bill Gates or Bill Joy or The Beatles the world could have produced if only more children had been exposed to the same intensity and depth of training, or if only more kids  were given the chance to have unlimited access to computers and programming during the 1960′s and 70′s?

Isn’t it scary to imagine how many lives we as a society could have unknowingly crushed, neglected and ultimately killed, simply because the systems we established robbed far too many people the opportunity they needed in life?

Rich Parents, Poor Parents

A psychologist who studied parenting styles of wealthier parents and poor parents discovered that there is a distinct difference between the two.  Apparently, wealthier parents tend to:

• provide their children more support (e.g., sports coaching, access to a computer, books, chaffeuring their kids to various extra-curricular activities). They checked up on their homework and actively take responsibility over their children’s holistic education
• expose their kids to more stimulation  (e.g., music lessons, holidays to different countries) which then help them develop a wider range of skills
• treat their kids in a way that says, “it’s OK to assert yourself to an authority figure”, “I don’t expect you to do everything I say without thinking”,  “you can advance in life if you are willing to work hard and know how to communicate well”
• they reason and negotiate with their kids, and they challenge teachers and intervene on behalf of their kids

Is it a wonder then, which children have more chances of succeeding? Is it possible then, that if children from poor families could perform and succeed just as well as the kids from the wealthier families if they are given the same high level of education, support, and social exposure?

This opportunity is exactly what KIPP Academy provided to children from poor families. The workload of KIPP students is 62% higher in terms of time compared to traditional students. KIPP’s academic results consistently proved that given the right opportunities, stimulation, discipline, support and education, children from disadvantaged backgrounds can succeed in life, too – and just as much as their wealthier counterparts.

You are a Product of Many Things

It’s not just academic intelligence that we need, of course. In fact, it is not enough to guarantee success. Your chances in succeeding is partly dependent on where you come from – or more precisely, the extent of how well your cultural background shape your actions.

• Have you been brought up in a culture where subordinates were trained to never question authority?
• Did you grow up in a town where violence is widely accepted as an honourable way to settle disputes?
• Were you born at a time during the history of your country where revolutionary events are taking place?
• Do you belong to a specific race that then heavily influences how others treat you?
• Did you learn from your family or other people how to be social savvy – how to determine what to say at the right time to the right people, and in the most effective manner?
• These factors had all  been shown to profoundly shape who you are and therefore how you think, adapt to your environment, how you act, and whether you succeed or fail.
• They will determine whether you will be able to talk yourself out of trouble and be given what you ask for.
• They will determine whether you will be able to fly a plane as a co-pilot and have the balls to correct the Captain when he makes a mistake.
• They will determine whether you will be able to assert yourself and customize your environment and the people around you to fulfill your goals.
• They will determine whether you will engage in a violent fight and end up murdering someone, or just shrugging your shoulders and laugh off an insult directed at you.
• They will determine whether you are too young or too old to seize certain opportunities.
• They will determine whether or not you have the cultural and linguistic advantages to solving problems of particular kinds, like Mathematics for example.
• They will determine whether or not the skills you have developed are perceived by the society you belong to as valuable enough to put you in a position of enormous power.

To deny this, Gladwell asserts, is similar to claiming that a tree grew as strong and tall as it was purely by its own powers – that its growth had nothing to do with the sun that gave it energy, nor the soil where the seed grew, nor the water that nourished its roots, nor the fact that no dangers nipped it in the bud during its formative years.

The ultimate lesson here is that (and I leave it to you whether it depresses or excites you) -Success is not purely a function of individual merit.

The Recipe for Success

So what then, guarantess success?

• Hard work alone will not; but it is utterly necessary.
• Talent alone will not; but it is enormously helpful.
• Intelligence alone will not; but you climb up to success will certainly be a lot smoother if you are clever enough.
• A wealthy background alone will not; although money can buy you so many opportunities.
• Social or emotional intelligence alone will not; but they definitely
• Parental influences alone will not; But they definitely play a great influence on your success.

The simple matter is that there are many factors that are beyond your reach as an individual. You can increase your chances of success:

• Develop the skills and knowledge that is valued by the society where you belong
• Take advantage of having a coach, a mentor
• Get an effective support system – emotional, financial, cultural, mental, social, etc.
• Focus on what you can control. Work Hard. Put in your 10,000 hours of practice.
• Train yourself to develop the skills needed to excel in your field.
• Be forward-thinking. This is how you will know how to seize the chance, the opportunity you need
• Connect with the right people who can make you and help give you the break you need
• Strive to break out of the limits that holds you back, whether it is your social and economic background. It IS possible.

This is a lesson about giving each other a chance, an opportunity, and turning the lemons we are handed in life as opportunities.

• It’s about breaking the myth that we can succeed in complete isolation.
• It’s about understanding that we as individuals are not alone; that we are not completely separate from the influence of everything else and everyone else around us.
• We can make or break someone, and they can do the same to us.
• The truth is, we can’t succeed without each other.

All in all, Outliers is an enormously satisfying read. The only critique I have for it is how “success” seemed to have been defined in the context of this book more in terms of material accomplishment alone. As I have mentioned in a previous post, I believe that there is inner success and outer success, both of which are important for a truly successful life. One is not of much use without the other, as they invariably affect every aspect of our lives.

I highly recommend the book. You can get your copy now by clicking on the image below:

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