Tom Peters guarantees that you won’t read a more important book this year – or any other year. The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle is a masterpiece that will inspire anyone who’s interested in human performance. It’s a fascinating look at the intangibles that separate the great ones from the rest.

Coyle journeys the planet to visit talent hotbeds in various fields of athletic, artistic and academic endeavors. He brings us to the ramshackle Russian tennis camp that produces more female champions than the entire United States. He explores the dominance of Brazilian soccer players and answers the time-honored question, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Hint: You’ll need at least 10,000 hours. But, Coyle doesn’t just look at elite performers. He introduces their coaches, teachers and mentors. These experts share their creative and unique perspectives on how to ignite and fuel the talent fire. It’s all about deep practice, and not just repetition.

I especially enjoyed how Coyle peels back the onion on nature and nurture. My favorite was his look at orphans and kids raised by single parents. It’s quite an eye-opener to read the list of people who rose to prominence in spite of limited parental support. It seems that learning self-reliance can be a powerful life-lesson. By the way, when it comes to self-reliance, there isn’t a lot of difference between orphans and early-stage companies. But, I’ll save that commentary for later.

Do you recall learning about myelin in high school biology? Well, Coyle offers a beautiful description on how this gooey substance can change your life. Myelin is the insulation that surrounds our neural pathways. The more you practice something, the more myelin your brain will produce to insulate those pathways. As the insulation increases, so does transmission speed; and the faster you process, the better you perform. Coyle likens learning curves to the difference between using a dial-up connection and broadband. Whether it’s math, writing, programming, golf, overcoming shyness or playing violin concertos – if you practice properly, then myelin will enable it. According to one UCLA neurologist, “Myelin is hope.” That’s the good news. On the other hand, you gotta use it… or lose it.

The Talent Code will impact your views on learning, parenting and coaching. It provokes debate on nature vs nurture, discusses the care and maintenance of your brain, and yes… it will help you see the exponential difference between good and great talent.

The Laudi team is always looking for better ways to ‘see’ talent. We’d love to hear your take on this great book. So drop us a line on how it changed your views on talent, selection and personal development.

For more information, explore the Talent Code blog here: http://thetalentcode.com/blog.

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