Dan Pink says that in his life he has learned that persistence trumps talent. A chapter is devoted to it in his new book, “The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The last career guide you’ll ever need.” He is better known for his books, “A Whole New Mind” and “Free Agent Nation” and for being at one time a speech writer for Al Gore.
I met Dan at a management speaking engagement that took place at Rotman School on September 30, 2008. It was an hour event. Dan spent a quarter of the time explaining Manga. The reason for this was that his latest book is written in this format. Manga is a Japanese form of a comic book. Apparently in Japan pretty much any subject is written in Manga, including a book on Budhism.
The Adventures of Johny Bunko is targeted to the “Y” generation but I think anyone would benefit from reading it. It takes less than hour to read it. You will learn as Johnny does the six most important lessons for a satisfying successful career. They are:
- There is no plan
- Think Strengths, not Weaknesses
- It’s not about you
- Persistence trumps talent
- Make excellent mistakes
- Leave an imprint
I completely agree with Dan on number four and often emphasize it to those who are starting a business. Hard work is key to success. There are countless examples of ordinary people doing extraordinarily things. The opposite is also true, there are very smart and talented people who do nothing close to their potential. The differentiators are hard work and persistence.
For those of you in a hiring role here are few tips from Dan:
- Hire with the intention with your candidate bringing out the best in people
- See what have they done–Portfolio
- In an interview divert from typical questions and ask, “Are you lucky?” The correct answer is yes, because it shows positive attitude.
