What distinguishes the best leaders, according to Stan Greenberg, one of our best known pollsters, is that they crash, adjust, persist and succeed. That's the conclusion from studies of Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Ehud Barak and Tony Blair. They all crash. That's inevitable. But they all learn from their crash, and persevere until they succeed.
What is it that makes people persevere? This is a profound question. At the most fundamental level, it's about the kind of passion that drives people. We know that in the development of world-class expertise, the practice required is not "inherently enjoyable." The passion is not gift or a matter of genetics. It develops or evolves.
The idea is fairly simple. A small advantage in some field slowly multiplies to a larger and larger advantage. Small wins, small advantages, small successes, environmental opportunities and regular coaching all keep multiplying. Because of the work of Anders Ericsson and his colleagues at Florida State, we now know that it's not a matter of intelligence or general abilities. That common constraint is false and tragic.
All who achieve and become an expert have encountered terrible difficulties. They have crashed, adjusted, persisted and succeeded.