I recently read Marcus Buckingham’s Now, Discover Your Strengths. I bought in to the idea that tapping into and developing an individual’s innate talents is the way to go. He argues that training is ineffective if someone does not have a natural propensity to learn what it is you are trying to teach. However, someone could have an unrealized talent that, once discovered, can be developed through knowledge, education, and experience.
Well, if you’ve read the recent Fortune magazine (October 30, 2006) cover story, “What It Takes to Be Great,” you know that recent research shows that “the lack of natural talent is irrelevant to great success.” It all comes down to “practice and hard work.”
On which side of this debate do you stand?