Is hard work sabotaging your success?

"Why are certain people so incredibly great at what they do? Most of us think we know the answer – but we're most always wrong. If we're wrong on this crucial question, we have zero chance of getting significantly better at anything we care about." -- Geoff Colvin

What if everything we believe about the connection between natural talent, hard work and great performance is wrong? That's the question GEOFF COLVIN explored in his bestselling book Talent is Overrated – What Really Separates World Class Performers from Everybody Else. His ideas re-framed the way people and organizations think about high achievers. Five years later the book is still selling well and having a profound impact on those looking to improve human performance.

Colvin, Fortune magazine's Senior Editor-at-Large, is a compelling speaker who provides profound answers to the elusive question: do great achievers get where they are because of hard work – or did they just have an abundance of natural talent? The answer is neither – and instead has to do with the power of deliberate practice. In this speech, Geoff gives a glimpse into how it's done.

Most people and organizations value the wrong things when it comes to exceptional performance. Colvin shares examples of organizations and individuals who are taking performance to exceptional levels by changing the way they think. The same principles used by the greatest performers can be used by all of us – and must be – if we're to stay sane and be productive in the face of relentless change and competitive pressures.