Week 4: Banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and "Talent Code"

WHY THIS BOOK

I am always curious to find out what I call secret nuggets of knowledge on how people become experts. This book provides some insight.

Divided into 3 parts: deep practice, ignition and master coaching.

Let's start with something called Futsal where soccer is played in a room with a small ball that is 2x the weight of a regular soccer ball. Virtually every great Brazilian player played futsal and the reason they became great players was because they touched the ball 6 times more per minute and the heavier ball demanded precise handling. You couldn’t just kick the ball down the field. And players touching the ball more often translates into learning faster. It reminded me of the work in diversity and inclusion and how we start with pilot programs to test and modify before we expand regionally or globally. Pilot programs are where you can test out what is working and it gives you an opportunity to change quickly and make the program better before expanding to other teams.

My favourite chapter was called The Talent Whisper. It discusses what makes an amazing coach. The author talks about John Wooden who led UCLA to 9 national championships in the previous 10 years and his coaching style. What is interesting is that he doesn't spend a lot of time giving compliments or getting angry at the players but spends most of the time providing pure specific information to make the players better. He also knows the players and what kind of information is needed for each.

How does this relate to equity, diversity and inclusion? Well it made me think of the way I work with the diversity taskforce and why it's important to know each member of the group personally to find out how to bring out their best talents.

I would say the Culture Code was better than the Talent Code, however still an interesting read. Every book provides an opportunity to learn something new.