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The Mathematics of Success
I run an informal group on LinkedIn for ex-regulars of the Singapore Armed Forces and, from time to time, I am asked for career advice. Having been a Human Resources Officer, and having overseen talent management and succession planning, I have seen first hand how officers are promoted through the ranks.
One clear observation I have is that while talent is important, it alone does not guarantee a person’s career success. Even without talent, hard work coupled with being in the right place and time brings success. As such, counter-intuitively, time and space is determines a person’s career success more than talent.
[ Talent + Hard Work ] x [ Time x Space ]
Let’s work through some of the math and you will see what I mean ….
(0 + 1) x (1 x 1) = Success
Hard work can make up for the lack of talent.
(1 + 1) x (1 x 1) = Success
Hard work adds to talent.
(1 x 1) x (0 x 0) = 0
Talent and hard work are worthless if time and space are zero.
(1 x 1) x (0 x 1) = 0; (1 x 1) x (1 x 0) = 0
Both time and space are needed to succeed.
(0 x 1) x (1 x 1) = 0; (1 x 0) x (1 x 1) = 0
Even if time and space are in your favor, if you have neither the talent nor the willingness to work, success will elude you.
“Ironically, the marginally talented who works smart, can find more success than the talented and hardworking by simply being in the right place at the right time.”
If you are an ambitious corporate warrior looking to climb the corporate ladder, you need to strategize to be at the right place at the right time. As this formula illustrates, being in the right place at the right time maximizes your talents and your good work ethics.
