1. Author: Juan Carlos Cubeiro
Theme: President of Eurotalent and teacher at ESIC
Article Title: Played as trained
It is a known and repeated phrase in the world of sport: “Train like you play”. This
means that passes, shots and defense techniques should be practiced over and over so
that during the game, the real competition, automatisms arise unconsciously and
spontaneously. There is no place, nor time for improvisation.
In fact, neuroscientists have shown us that talent is either cultivated or nonexistent.
Talent, understood as “to value what one knows how, can and wants to do”, emerges
when a person repeats the activity again and again (through deliberate practice).
Mastery is persistence: a minimum of 10,000 hours of hard work.
In terms of individual and collective talent, what works in the sports world is fully
applicable to the business world. However, athletes donate 90% of their time to
compete during the remaining 10%. Professionals in business organisations ‘compete’
constantly, over 95% of their time with a short ‘training’ period of less than 5% of their
time (in such cases they usually receive knowledge that is almost never converted into
new and better habits). Elite athletes ‘rest’ for four to five months a year to be able to
compete in the best conditions. Managers and other professionals in a company just
take three or four weeks of vacation, many not even that, so they don’t start the
season with the necessary energy. High performance athletes have a professional life
of five to seven years at the top. Managers and other employees in the business world
live ‘professional careers’ of thirty‐five to forty years. If the Olympics, the Premiership,
the NBA and other important competitions worked with participants as
improvisational as those in business organisations, brands would be much lower.
Therefore, initiatives such as the Business Marketing Competition are extremely
valuable. A prestigious and rigorous competition, involving thousands of students
worldwide. An academic initiative aimed at strengthening ties between the business
community and educational institutions, organised by ESIC, a business school and
leader in marketing strategy, and sponsored by Banco Santander, the financial
institution with the highest number of offices worldwide.
Using a simulator such as the Praxis MMT is the closest thing to a real experience. The
team members develop their talents both in intellectual abilities (decision making,
creativity, conceptual thinking, analytical skills) and emotional competencies (self‐
confidence, serenity, initiative, results orientation, empathy, collaboration and
cooperation, leadership service ...).
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2. There is no other way to develop talent than to practice. Ferrán Adrià, the best chef in
the world, practices during the “BulliTaller” for six months to a year to later offer the
best cuisine in the world at elBulli. Rafael Nadal, number 2 in the world and a leading
member of the Davis Cup team winning the last two competitions, practices constantly
with his uncle Toni as coach. Pau Gasol, who won the last championship with the Los
Angeles Lakers and is a leader of the world, Olypic and European championship
selection, constantly trains under the orders of Phil Jackson. Carles Puyol, “six cups”
Barcelona captain and standout player of the national Spanish team “La Roja” and
European champion, is coached by Pep Guardiola and Vicente del Bosque. Fernando
Alonso, twice world champion, prepares for the Formula One season with the Ferrari
team. Those who don’t train, don’t improve at the rate they deserve, they don’t learn
from their mistakes (to know not to repeat them) and don’t reflect on success to
achieve it again and again.
For the human brain there is no difference between thinking about something and it
actually happening. Therefore, training is the best way to build healthy habits. It is
much safer and more effective to do so in lower risk environments (such as an
advanced simulator) than to wait for it to happen in “real life”.
We call this experience (which is real, in the sense that you have to think, decide, act)
and it teaches us for the future. A creation of synapses between neurons that is done
time and time again coats them in myelin. Dan Coyle, author of “The Keys of talent”,
taught us that myelin, a lipoprotein that covers nerves in a sheath shape and allows
the transmission of impulses between them, is the cornerstone of talent. Myelin was
already known for its relationship with multiple or lateral sclerosis but not as key to
talent.
According to Coyle, myelin is “like a rubber insulation wrapped around a copper wire”.
It is responsible for the faster and stronger signal between nerves and can not escape
the nerve impulses. This way, thoughts are faster and more accurate and the action
(Nadal’s kick, Gasol's basket throw, the overtaking maneuver of Fernando Alonso,
Puyol's pass, Ferran Adria’s genius, the decisions during the Business Marketing Game
) is highly valueable.
We live in a globalised and multipolar world, in which technology allows us to develop
our talents like never before. But only us, our motivation, our will, our vocation, can
seize opportunities. We must know what we want do with our lives, show courage and
go for it. The good news is that we can get almost anything we want if we practice (for
example, by participating in the Business Marketing Game). The “bad news” is that
there are no excuses. Talent is not innate, it is not predestined, it is not a grace given
to us from heaven. You have to work, practice and train. Only then will you reach your
potential.
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