Review: Coyle, Daniel.

"The Sweet Spot" The Talent Code. Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown.

Here’s How. New York: Bantam, 2009. 11-29.

What does it mean to be successful? This is one of the many questions that concern most people today. Over the years, there have been different kinds of answers to this question anddifferent roads have been suggested by different kinds of people. Related to the dilemma of whatsuccess means is the question of how to achieve it and the role talent plays in achieving it. Daniel
Coyle’s book “The Talent Code” is one of many approaches to the resolution of this problem. In his book, Coyle studies talent - what it is, the reason for it and its role in success. He visitsnine places that he considers talent hot-beds so as to observe talented people. He calls these places
“the chicken
-
wire Havards” because they produce huge amounts of talents despite being small andhumble (p. 11).He begins with the definition of talent a s “the possession of repeatable skills that don’t dependon physical size” (p.
11, footnote). The objective of the first chapter is to prove to its readers thatdeep-practicing is the way skills are gained and show how this process contributed to the success of those who were trained through it. One of the concepts involved in this process is the sweet spot, andit is defined by Robert Bjork as the “optimal gap between what you know and what you’re trying todo.”
(p. 19).
“Deep practice” is the art of increasing learning velocity by “struggling in certain targeted ways – operating at the edges of your ability where you make mistakes ….”
(p. 15). To understandhow this comes to play in training, the writer uses the examples of Brazilian soccer players and
Edwin Link’s device for training pilots where “training in a particular way with a particular tool thatimproves skills” led to success.
(pgs. 15, 16, 18)
While not discrediting the conventional way of explaining Brazil’s football talents as the result of local factors (nature and nurture), the author agrees with the analysis of soccer coach SimonClifford, that it is the method of employing futsal in the training of Brazilian soccer players that isresponsible for its players’ success in the world of soccer. Futsal is a game resembling soccer withdifferences in the number of players involved, the size and type of ball and location used. According to Coyle “ Futsal compresses soccer’s essential skills into a small box; it places players inside the deep practice zone, making and correcting errors, constantly generating solutions to vivid problems”
(p. 28).
Another example cited to prove the author’s theory is the trainer for pilots invented by EdwinLink during the late 1920’s. Before the use of Link’s trainer in training pilots, their training involved observing their instructors fly a plane and very little time actually flying the plane. This method didnot produce good pilots.
Link’s trainer allowed pilots to learn by actually flying, using a machinewith the piloting features of a plane. While flying they could make mistakes and correct them and sothey learned by doing.
Link’s trainer produced good pilots who also fought in th e Second WorldWar.Coyle uses different kinds of mechanisms to get his point across to his readers. He utilizesquestions like
“How
?
”
employs metaphors (comparing his experiences with talent to an encounter

with a herd of running deer). He inclu des the reader in the dialogue through the use of “We”
-
“we watch Brunio”, “we see people practice effectively”, “ we usually describe it ….” Since “we” areinvolved in the process of observing talents, “we” come to the same conclusions. Asides are used in drama by characters to draw the audience into their confidence and the writer employs them in brackets (pgs. 12, 17, 18, 19, 21 and 25 are examples), this way he becomes more real to andintimate with his readers.The experts cited also lend an air of authenticity to the book. Robert Bjork is a psychologistwho has done research on memory and learning, Simon Clifford is a soccer coach, VincentFigueiredo, Alex Barros and Dr. Emilio Miranda are experts on futsal and soccer cited in thischapter.
One problem with Coyle’s argument is his definition of talent (footnote on p.11). Definition isimportant because it is central to the way an argument is presented and how the question or concept being analyzed is resolved. His definition leads to a confusion o f the words “talent” and “skill”.
These two words are repeated throughout this chapter. According to Oxford Dictionary of English,
Talent is “ natural aptitude or skill
” and Skill is “ the ability to do something well; expertise".
Cambridge Dictionary also defines Talent as “ a natural ability to be good at something especiallywithout being taught" w hile Skill is defined as “ an ability to do an activity or job well, especially because you have practiced it" ( all italics are mine
).The definitions above show us that talent indicates a natural ability while skill is a learnedability. This raises the question: by practicing deeply what do we develop talent or skill? To understand how this relates to Coyle’s argument
I would like to cite page 18 of this chapter where he writes that “Deep practice raises an intriguing possibility: that practice might be the way to forge the blade (natural ability) itself” Does Coyle mean that deep
-practicing creates talent? If so, how doesthis demonstrate his confusion of skills with talent?
The word “forge” evokes the image of metal and fire and can help us appreciate the difference between talent and skill. Talent can be likened to raw (natural) metal before taken to the forge whileskill can be likened to forged metal. Before taken to the forge the raw metal has potential but it canonly fulfill it after being forged.I would like to conclude by affirming that while I agree that deep-practicing creates skills, itdoes not create talent. I do no t concur with the author’s equation of talent and skills
, hisdisassociation of potential from talent and what I understand as is his view of talent as necessarilyleading to success. (See footnote on p. 11)ReferencesOxford Dictionaries: 2013 Oxford University PressCambridge Dictionaries Online: Cambridge University Press 2013