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You've got that backwards. Attitude can be adjusted, but only if the person is willing. Talent can't be learned--at least not by most people, and not on the t
by rabidrat 8y ago
You've got that backwards. Attitude can be adjusted, but only if the person is willing. Talent can't be learned--at least not by most people, and not on the timescale of an actual job to be performed.
- zinclozenge 8y agoTalent only even begins to matter when you're at levels roughly 4-5 standard deviations away from the mean.
- Alex3917 8y agoThis. In college I was a lightweight rower. Despite there being thousands of people in that sport at the college level, in most years there are 0 to 1 kids with enough genetic talent to be unbeatable by everyone else who just works hard.
- threatofrain 8y agoThen how do police forces argue that intelligence is a legitimate criteria in hiring?
- kthejoker2 8y agoHow do they measure intelligence? Whatever test they give, I promise it doesn't reveal intelligence, only aptitude, knowledge, and whatever latent biases the exam preparer had.
- ganeshkrishnan 8y agoYou are entitled to your opinion but in my life as tech recruiter or even for my startup my priority has always been culture fit aka don't be an asshole. The rest is negotiable.
- randycupertino 8y agoCompletely agree! Because even if you have one amazingly talented person, if they're morale-killing and toxic to work with, any gains from their talent is negated by loss of productivity and the drama they bring to the rest of the team (as well as turnover they inspire because people just can't stand to work with them). I'd much rather work with someone pleasant, funny and smart who is trainable and tries hard but maybe is less talented than a talented jerk.
- rifung 8y agoHm strangely I find the opposite to be true. I actually think personality is really hard to change but if you aren't good at something you can be trained. Without the right attitude though it's hard to train someone.
- allenu 8y agoI totally agree. I don't think the idea of "talent" is meaningful. For the most part, at least with software design, you can learn all this over time, but it requires you to have the right attitude (i.e. a growth mindset). You can tell when people don't have the right attitude because they stop trying to learn things or listen to outside perspectives. That's the attitude that causes people stop learning and stop growing.