Chapter 6 - The Trouble with Too Much Grit
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If you would like a PDF of all chapters in one document you can find it here!
The First Book: Range by David Epstein
David Epstein examined the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters, and scientists. He discovered that in most fields—especially those that are complex and unpredictable—generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They’re also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see.
Who should read this?
All books have a thesis they attempt to answer, and Range's subtitle gives away the thesis right on the cover!
Why generalists succeed in a specialized world?
If the quote," jack of all trades, master of none." resonates with you, this book will fascinate you. Or if you are a curious person might berate themselves having too many interests. The book is about being broadly curious to solve problems more effectively.
If you missed the previous chapters you can find them here:
Chapter 1 - The Cult of the Headstart
Chapter 2 - How the Wicked World Was Made
Chapter 3 - When Less of the Same Is More
Chapter 4 - Learning, Fast and Slow
Chapter 5 - Thinking Outside Experience
Chapter 6 - The Trouble with Too Much Grit
We've been unpacking the myth of starting early and specializing early, but what about those that started late? Of course their many examples of those who started late and became prolific. So let's take a look at the studies.
Match Quality: The degree of fit between the work someone does and who they are. This is typically allied in economics.
Enter Ofer Malamud is an economist focused on education policy from an international perspective. His research is concentrated in three substantive areas:
Educational investments over the life course
The role of technology in the formation of human capital
The effect of general and specific education on labor market outcomes
A study he conducted on English, Scottish, and Wales college graduates. "The benefits to increased match quality. . . out weight the greater loss in skills."
David would pose a statement, "If we treated careers more like dating nobody would settle down so quickly." This has me thinking about the choice of work. Most of us settle for something because we have to make a living but what we choose to do for work directly impacts the quality of our life. We like to say work will always be work no matter how much you enjoy it. There is a component to that.
Grit and Selection Bias
Grit is a positive, non-cognitive trait based on an individual's perseverance of effort combined with the passion for a particular long-term goal or end state. We all know of this buzzword that is grown around heavily. But the selection bias crops up again here but in a different setting. The initial studies with grit focused on West Point candidates. This is analogous to studying basketball players without accounting for the selection bias in height.
A multi-armed bandit problem is a problem in which a fixed, limited set of resources must be allocated between competing (alternative) choices in a way that maximizes their expected gain. When each choice's properties are only partially known at the time of allocation and may become better understood as time passes or by allocating resources to the choice. When we start our careers, young people are likely to seek high potential jobs and have equally high signaling if they are cut out for the job. Think of this as a feedback loop. If the feedback is closer immediate, then you know how much of a fit that is for you.
For more on Grit you can check out Angela Duckworth’s Book by the same title!
A counter-intuitive view of quitters
We all know the adage of quitters never win. But now, with the adage of entrepreneurs, you've probably read or heard someone say fail fast and often. Is failing quitting?
Seth Godin provides insight here, "We fail when when we don't have the guts to quit." While this is not devaluing perseverance but there is a difference when you tie yourself to the mast and sink with the ship. Know yourself and put the ego aside, and bounce back with renewed vigor.
What we need is a talent matching mechanism. If you google talent matching, you get many different consultants offering this service. This shows that talent matching has much more art than science. People are complex, and finding the right person for a role is just as complex.
So let's return to those who specialize early. In many cases, Olympic athletes were not made willingly; their parents decided for them and later coaches.
Here is some advice from Sasha Cohen, 2006 silver medalist figure skater,
"Olympic athletes need to understand that the rules for life are different from the rules for sports. Yes striving to accomplish a single overarching goal every day means you have grit, determination and resilience. But the ability to pull yourself together mentally and physically in competition is different from the new challenges that await you. so after you retire, travel, write a poem, try to start your own business, stay out a little to late, devote time to something doesn't have a clear end goal."
(For more on Sasha’s story you can listen to this podcast with Peter Attia - Sasha Cohen: The price of achievement, and redefining success)
Why is quitting so hard then?
Back to the textbook, we are hardwired with what is known as the sunk cost fallacy. The sunk cost effect is the tendency for people to continue an endeavor or continue consuming or pursuing an option if they've invested time or money or some resource in it.
Van Gogh becomes the poster child for exploring match quality. Many of us like to view ourselves as the underdog and out works with others. But don't mistake interest change here. Van Gogh changed styles or mediums frequently before settled into his own. Research done by Steven Naifeh places Van Gogh in the 40th percentile for grit. This doesn't fit the picture of grit equals greatness.
This chapter illustrates that picking early and often is not as straightforward as we are told. What we can do, though, is become more active in finding our best match earlier in life.