A New Yorker (or in some versions Arthur Rubinstein) is approached in the street near Carnegie Hall, and asked, “Pardon me sir, how do I get to Carnegie Hall?” He replies, “Practice, practice, practice.” (Wikipedia)
We’ve all heard the old Carnegie Hall joke (well, at least those of us above a certain age have). More recently, you may have caught the buzz about the importance of “10,000 hours” as popularized by Malcom Gladwell in Outliers. The message in both cases it that if you really want to excel at something, a lot of time and a lot of practice are required.
The time part seems straightforward enough, but I know from my own love/hate experience with learning the guitar over many years that simply clocking hours of practice is not enough. The practice has to be of a certain quality. As Anders Ericsson has argued in his body of work on the topic, it has to be deliberate practice.
I found an interesting take on the concept of deliberate practice a while back in an article on “expert performance” in the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. I recommend the full article. If you can motivate yourself to read and take notes on the whole thing (it is, as might be expected, a bit long and academic), I think you will find some great wisdom in it. You don’t have to consider yourself an entrepreneur to benefit from the insights – they apply broadly.
Whether or not you read the whole thing, here are eight key features of deliberate practice as it is discussed in the article. I’ve provided my own gloss on each:
1. Deliberate practice is highly demanding mentally, requiring high levels of focus and concentration.
You’ve heard it before – no pain, no gain. But the authors also stress that you have to be “fully absorbed” in your practice for it to truly be effective.
2. It is designed specifically to improve performance—to strengthen it beyond its current levels.
This is the part that says you can’t just put in time and expect to get significantly better at anything – you have to consistently stretch yourself, and then stretch some more.
3. It must continue for long of periods of time.
This is Gladwell’s 10,000 hours/10 years. The authors go on to say “Basic research on expert performance suggests that the benefits it generates cannot usually be attained with less than 10 years of continued, vigorous effort (e.g., Ericsson, 2006).”
4. It must be repeated.
Even though repetition alone won’t get you to the level of excellence, you also won’t get there without out it. Perhaps this why the word “Practice” is repeated three times in the old joke.
5. It requires continuous feedback on results.
Sometimes you can tell on your own whether you are doing things right. I know when I hit a wrong note on the guitar, for example. But very often this is the area where having a great teacher, coach, or mentor can make all the difference.
6. Pre-performance preparation is essential.
This is where goal setting comes in – you have to know where you want to go if you expect to get there. And as the authors stress, goal-setting “should involve not merely outcomes, but also the processes involved in reaching predetermined goals.”
7. It involves self-observation and self-reflection.
As you practice, you need to be continually aware of your own performance and be focused on correcting and adapting as appropriate. This kind of in-the-moment self-assessment is critical regardless of whether a teacher is involved.
8. It involves careful reflection on performance after practice sessions are completed.
In addition to being aware of your performance as you are practicing, you need to look back on it once you are done and determine where you stand with respect to your overall goals. What might you change the next time to ensure ongoing progress? (And see my thoughts on reflection as a learning habit.)
The overall focus of this article is on entrepreneurship, but regardless of whether you are an entrepreneur, I think you will find many insights here that are useful to practice in your particular area of interest. Given that “entrepreneurship” is a somewhat fuzzy area, however, the article may be especially helpful to you if you are pursuing interests that are not as straightforward as learning a musical instrument or a new language.
How does deliberate practice factor in to your learning habits? Please comment and share with other readers.
Jeff
P.S. – Also be sure to check out why deliberate practice may not be enough.
