Malcolm Gladwell is a journalist, speaker and best-selling author of The Tipping Point (2000), Blink (2005) and Outliers (2008).  His book Outliers (subtitled The Story of Success), examines how an individual’s environment, in conjunction with personal drive and motivation, affects his or her possibility and opportunity for success.

A common theme in Outliers is the “10,000-Hour Rule.”  Gladwell argues that great success requires enormous time.  He uses the source of The Beatles’ musical talents and Bill Gates’ computer savvy as examples

The Beatles performed live in Hamburg, Germany over 1,200 times from 1960 to 1964, amassing more than 10,000 hours of playing time.  The time The Beatles spent performing there shaped their talent, so that by the time they returned to England, “they sounded like no one else.  It was the making of them.”

Bill Gates gained access to a high school computer in 1968 at the age of 13, and spent 10,000 hours programming on it.  Gates told Gladwell that the unique access he had to a computer at a time when they were not commonplace helped him succeed. Without that access, Gladwell theorizes that Gates would still be “a highly intelligent, driven, charming person and a successful professional”, but that he might not be worth over $50 billion.

The 10-thousand hour rule has application for recognition presentations in the workplace – a full-time, 40-hour-per-week employee has contributed approximately 2,000 per year to the job. In five years, that individual has met the 10,000-hour rule.

 

Putting the Ideas into Action

When recognizing the 5-year milestones of your employees consider the 10,000-hour rule:

  1. Relate the story of The Beatles and Bill Gates – and search for other stories where dedicated effort over time resulted in significant achievements, mastery of skills or professional esteem
  2. Relate specific examples of achievements accomplished, skills acquired or peer  accolades received by this individual – make it personal and link their service to achievement
  3. Connect their contributions to the success of the organization