"...if you want to be an expert at something? Pick a subject, read and work with it everyday for about 30-60 minutes, for two years without stopping"- Coach Homer Drew during a business presentation at Bethlehem Steel
Sitting in an auditorium I heard this message. Being in my early 20s, I quickly ignored it. However, when I went back to my office and taught about some more I realized the brilliance of it.
This is what I learned:
10 pages per hour * 365 hours per year * 2 years= 7300 pages
Note: if you stop for even one day then reset the clock to day one.
Then I asked myself, "What are you an expert in?" I had instructed Circuit Analysis three times in my life and I knew that I could teach it better than anyone on the planet. Using that as a reference I calculated that I had read three books on the subject(1 while in school and 2 when I started teaching the subject). Overall I had read about 3*900 pages=2700 pages. Using the 900 pages per book average I then figured out that Coach Drew was telling me that I needed to read eight books to be an expert.
When I share this story with my students they often disagree with my conclusion. Their logic is that reading will not lead to expert level because a person can keep reading and still not understand. I offer the following logic: after first book you might understand just 10%, after the second you build on that 10%, and so on. By fifth book you will be at 100% if you stick with it.
But remember that coach Drew said eight books. So what happens with those three books? You already know 100% of the subject and with those books you develop mastery that leads to expert status.
A wonderful book that offer a similar deduction is Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers. In it he sites a 10000 hour rule. I think that 10000 hours includes the additional work that includes the accumulation of experience to go along with your developing knowledge.
Today's question is:
"What subject are you willing to put in two years worth of reading and work to become an expert?"
I really want to be an expert in project management. So, I am considering taking the PMP class and Six Sigma classes. Attaining my MBA, and having the right mix of certificates under my belt, will lead me closer to being an expert in management consulting (project management).
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