A Strategy for Effort: Remove Organizational Bottlenecks and Develop Personal Strengths

Seven Ways to Become More Capable—How to Work Hard Effort is necessary. Only someone who keeps working can become highly capable. But effort does not mean blindly grinding away; it needs strategy. The barrel principle says a barrel’s capacity depends on its shortest stave. Many apply this to personal development, pursuing all-round ability and trying to improve everything. That is a mistake: the theory describes teams, not individuals. A team’s overall ability depends on its least capable member. For an individual, this instead shows that developing outstanding strengths matters far more than having no obvious weaknesses. Distinctive strengths bring real value to a team. The first principle is to devote most energy to developing unique strengths rather than repairing weaknesses. A new field usually involves a slow beginning, rapid improvement, and a plateau. Income generally pulls ahead only at the plateau. Without focus, many people remain at the slow beginning in every field, giving up after a superficial attempt. It is like digging a series of wells only ten meters deep and never reaching water. Their abilities and income remain trapped. For people with ordinary educational backgrounds, few professional skills, no powerful family to rely on, and limited resources, the path is to pool those resources and focus on one thing. Even if it is small and inconspicuous, continuing creates a chance to stand out. Beyond focus, take the work to an exceptional level, improving on what is already good rather than merely getting by. This is easy to say and hard to do. Focus also means giving things up. Whether to make that trade-off is a personal choice. Effort is more than a belief or an exercise in willpower. It is a strategic activity involving resource allocation, choice of direction and action, and control of progress. Good strategy can be learned and improved. Capable people find how to do this. #Dedao audio summary of 精進 ---- Robin: ‘Organizations and production processes need to identify and remove bottlenecks. Individuals may need balanced performance on school exams, but once in working life they need one or two strengths clearly above others, rather than being average at everything.’