10,000

Malcom Gladwell’s book and Seth Godin‘s recent post got us thinking about the effort and focus required for success. 10,000 hours for an individual translates into consistent work, training over and over again while your competition sloughs off as the miles you put in draws you closer to the finish line.

We are all intuitively drawn to the concept (that’s why we reward those who put in the long hours in the office or on the road) and try to apply this to ourselves. That’s also why Nike’s women’s training system is so popular. It allows women to demonstrate their commitment and their long hours.

What does 10,000 hours mean for a company? Is it driving your employees like slaves building a pyramid or is it a  call to action with everyone in the trenches working as a team, surmounting challenges, scaling obstacles, and, celebrating the final victory?

If you look at the winners who cross  finish lines you know the answer is in the positive call to action. We all live in uncertain economic times but we know that we need to cross that finish line and that we need to put in the right training and those 10,000 hours.