Some people want to believe there’s a magic bullet that leads to business success, and they’ll hang on to a theory because it seems so simple. When Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his book Outliers that it took 10,000 hours to master something, people ran with it, and started repeating that advice. There are many examples of successful business people who spent thousands of hours building great companies, such as Henry Ford, Ray Kroc, Steve Jobs, and numerous others, so the 10,000-rule would apply. However, it doesn’t always work that way. 
Bryant Urstadt in his Bloomberg Businessweek article, “Oh, the Places You Won’t Go,” says that success is a combination of nature and nurture, and some people attain success by working a fraction of those thousands of hours, while others never become successful even after 10,000 hours.
Achieving success in business comes down to the same principles that have always been true: you have to work hard, spread your risk, keep making small decisions, avoid procrastinating, and get lucky. Then there are the practical day-to-day efforts such as marketing and servicing your customers effectively, watching your cash flow, treating your employees right, creating great products and services, and fulfilling the specific pain of your industry. It may take 10 hours, 10,000 hours, or 100,000 hours to get there.
If you’ve read Outliers or have opinions about what it takes to succeed, let me know in the comments below.
Sharon – thanks, this is great additional information!
Barry,
My father used to say “does he have 20 years expierence, or is it one year repeated 20 times?”
The years will teach you plenty, but without a plan or focus we may just wander for 20 years and never learn . . . Just saying :)
Agreed! Excellent point!
Gladwell’s point wasn’t quite this simplistic. He actually states that in addition to this heavy investment of time the student must be focused and challenged along the way. He also states, in an interview on YouTube, that the 10,000 hours can be cut if the student is intense (pushes themself) and if he or she is well mentored (critiqued/challenged).
But Tom, do you agree that 10,000 hours is not magical. That some people can learn in far less and some will never learn?
Absolutely, Gladwell also concedes this point. For me 10k wasn’t enough. But his reason for picking 10,000 hours isn’t that we magically transform into competant individuals at the 10k mark. It’s that short bursts of intence learning aren’t enough, especially for the small business owner. Most of us need a great deal of time to experience a wide range of situations. It takes time to come across and fumble our way through life’s varied experiences in order to become highly skilled, and less than 10k hours rarely accomplishes this.
Some people learn the lessons embedded in those hours and some don’t, no matter how many there are. Focusing on the journey and celebrating every milestone in it is more productive and fulfilling than waiting for the final outcome.
I agree Dorene
A great article. I think there is a difference between mastering something like chess or guitar at 10,000 hours vs. creating a sustainable business. As you say, that is a mix of luck, passion, hard work and working from your principles and purpose. I’ve put in about 3000 hours in Zapnito, and I will let you know after 10k! There are no magic formulas. Blood, sweat and tears could leave you with just that, but the road there is awesome.
Good to hear Charles!!
For me, success is not only a matter of time, but also a matter of events. In other words, we have to use our available time to make profitable moments. But I agree, success is not done overnight. I believe in growing a business like a tree which have more lasting success effect.
Events is another great way to measure! thanks