Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle, (07) Tip #7, Notes

Post date: Oct 10, 2018 1:15:39 PM

Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle

TIP #7 BEFORE YOU START, FIGURE OUT IF IT’S A HARD SKILL OR A SOFT SKILL

Every skill falls into one of two categories: hard skills and soft skills. The first step toward building a skill is to figure out exactly what type of skill you’re building. Hard skills and soft skills are different (literally, they use different structures of circuits in your brain), and thus are developed through different methods of deep practice. Begin by asking yourself which of these skills need to be absolutely 100-percent consistent every single time. Which need to be executed with machinelike precision? These are the hard skills. Then ask yourself, which skills need to be flexible, and variable, and depend on the situation? Which depend on instantly recognizing patterns and selecting one optimal choice? These are the soft skills.

• • HARD, HIGH-PRECISION SKILLS are actions that are performed as correctly and consistently as possible, every time. They are skills that have one path to an ideal result; skills that you could imagine being performed by a reliable robot. Hard skills are about repeatable precision, and tend to be found in specialized pursuits, particularly physical ones. Here, your goal is to build a skill that functions like a Swiss watch—reliable, exact, and performed the same way every time, automatically, without fail. Hard skills are about ABC: Always Being Consistent.

  • SOFT, HIGH-FLEXIBILITY SKILLS , on the other hand, are those that have many paths to a good result, not just one. These skills aren’t about doing the same thing perfectly every time, but rather about being agile and interactive; about instantly recognizing patterns as they unfold and making smart, timely choices. With these skills, we are trying to develop the ability to quickly recognize a pattern or possibility, and to work past a complex set of obstacles. Soft skills are about the three Rs: Reading, Recognizing, and Reacting. Soft skills tend to be found in broader, less-specialized pursuits, especially those that involve communication.