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Allen Iverson Was Right About Practice

Allen Iverson had it right.

“We’re talkin’ about practice, how silly is that?  We’re talkin’ about practice?”

Practice is when we do the same things over and over to get better.   Learning, on the other hand, is when we expand our understanding of what we do and add that to what we already know, then practice it.

Practice isn’t enough.  Organizations are filled with practitioners.  They’ve spent years and years honing their craft.    The problem is we don’t need more practitioners, they don’t bring much value.

Practitioners hone; honing closes our minds and establish a status quo.  Honing shrinks the pie.  Honing lacks innovation and growth.  Practitioners practice.  Practice gets us better at what we know, it doesn’t make us good and that IS silly.

To be good, we have to learn.  Learning expands what we know.  Learning adds to the status quo.  Learning expands the pie.  Learning drives innovation and creativity.   Learning is what makes us good. We need more people learning their craft.

If you want to be good, LEARN your craft, don’t just practice it.  The world needs more of that.

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  • http://realadvertising.cc Frymaster

    There's certainly something to your thought that learners tend to see paths leading out and 'practitioners' tend to circle the same point trying to get ever closer. I think each approach can be useful, depending on goals and circumstances.

    And, as a one-time / never-was performer, I think you mis-characterize practice. Done properly, practice is a learning experience. In your skiing, for example, you might do a run in almost the same way, getting faster with each successive run. With each trip down you learn subtle aspects of the run, your positioning, etc.

    To the outside, it looks like repetition, but on the inside it's an iterative process of continuous improvement. So don't knock practice.

    Now, as to Iverson, I thought he was wrong when he said it. To say that AI needed to be at Sixers' practice is _NOT_ the same thing as saying that AI needs to practice. Teams that have a single, dominant player like AI was must have that player present for there to be any kind of meaningful practice. All others must learn to complement the dominant force. Without the force, it's just practice for the 2nd squad.

    Cheers.

  • http://asalesguy.com Keenan

    I like your point on practice, done right it IS a learning experience.

    //keenan

  • http://www.aaronklein.com/ AaronKlein

    Great post, Keenan – and the science backs you up. Geoffrey Colvin wrote extensively on this in “Talent is Overrated”, which I just reviewed…

    http://www.aaronklein.com/2010/03/talent-is-ove…