1. The Making of an Expert by K. Anders Ericsson, Michael J. Prietula, and Edward T. Cokely.
2. MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED By Malcolm Gladwell.
3. CHAPTER THREE : The Trouble with Geniuses, Part 1
4. THE TALENT MYTH : Are smart people overrated? By Malcolm Gladwell
Organization Behavior
• Read four sources:
1. Ericsson et al. (2007, HBR) - Deliberate practice
2. Gladwell (Dec 15, 2008) - Predicting performance
3. Gladwell (2008, Outliers) - Practical intelligence
4. Gladwell (July 22, 2002) - Talent myth
• You will then write half a page per source. In total, the paper should be no more than 2 pages.
1. All critiques must be typed. Use 1-inch margins all around and double-spacing with a 12-point font based on Times New Roman. I will only accept electronic copies.
1. Ericsson et al. (2007, HBR) - Deliberate practice
i. The article states: "This kind of deliberate practice can be adapted to developing business and leadership expertise."
ii. To what extent may their recommendations lack practical utility?
iii. Suggestions for critiquing this article based on lack of practical utility:
1. What might be some jobs where you face significant pressure to work/performance and often play, but not many opportunities to engage in deliberate practice?
2. What if you are a working parent of multiple children, and your spouse works too? Would that impact your ability and/or motivation to engage in deliberate practice?
3. Other
2. Gladwell (Dec 15, 2008) - Predicting performance
a. The author claims that the "quarterback problem" means that the profession should keep the gates wide open.
b. But is predicting quarterback performance in the NFL truly inherently unpredictable? Is the author incorrectly or incompletely interpreting the situation?
c. After all, elite levels in science, art, music, etc. all seem vastly different from non-elite levels, but for these, the author emphasizes the importance of deliberate practice in other works.
d. Explain how the article suffers from misinterpretation of evidence when discussing the unpredictability of which college players will do well in the NFL.
e. Hints/suggestions for critiquing this article:
i. One possibility: Range restriction
ii. Another possibility: Structured versus unstructured
iii. Other
3. Gladwell (2008, Outliers) - Practical intelligence
a. I agree with the author's conclusion that IQ alone cannot explain who succeeds and who do not. Job knowledge also counts above and beyond IQ.
b. But even if the conclusion happens to be sound, the way he makes this argument may not. Why? Explain how the author potentially commits the narrative fallacy.
4. Gladwell (July 22, 2002) - Talent myth
a. I agree with the author that talent mind-set had a direct impact on Enron's decline.
b. But, I strongly suspect that the relationship between the talent mind-set and organizational decline is largely inflated because of a third (i.e., confounding variable).
c. Explain how the article potentially suffers from ambiguous causality.
d. Hints: Leadership by top management, environmental factors exerting pressure on the organization, personality of leaders.