It was 4.30 on a cold and wet morning and I was choking on thestench of thick layers of years old grease behind the deep fatfryer and I was ecstatically happy as I scrubbed and cleaned theonce white tiles back to their original gleaming brightness.It was my first day on my first proper job and I would soon bedelegating this filthy work to some other poor sap who similarlywanted to become a chef de cuisine. In the meantime, my job was toscrub, peel, haul, carry, chop, clear and clean it all upagain.The head cook (for in the mid 1970's we had few "Chef's" as thatwas far too French and suggestive of "haute cuisine") had agreed totake me under her wing and teach me how to prepare the only famousdish to come from England and clogged the arteries of its workingclasses: The Great British Breakfast.Putting talent in perspective

Talent is often misunderstood. Businessleaders are obsessed with finding it, keeping it and banking theirsuccession on it. They recruit the top students from the bestuniversities, promote them quickly, reward them lavishly and labelthem as talent.

Talent is often misunderstood. Business leaders are obsessedwith finding it, keeping it and banking their succession on it.They recruit the top students from the best universities, promotethem quickly, reward them lavishly and label them as talent. Thenthere is surprise at the realisation that:More than half the CEO's of Fortune 500 companies averaged a Cor C-And more than 50% of the world's millionaire entrepreneursnever finished collegeLet me clarify, I am not anti-talent. I believe that we shouldseek our talent and we should put it to work. But talent alone, isnot the answer to leadership succession, productivity and a growingeconomy.Everyone has talentI was 15 years old as I crouched behind that deep fat fryer andabout to discover my talent but first I had to serve my time andobserve Mrs Brown at her work as closely as possible whilstsimultaneously keeping out of the way of her sharp knives and evensharper tongue.Once allowed, I soon mastered the fry-up served with tea andslices of Hovis with thick butter. I was cocky with my demonstratedobvious talent, but was soon cut by Mrs Brown's sharp tongue as sheremarked:

"Anyone can cook. It's just that not everyone should."

Her simple wisdom is true in all walks of life: Today, watch any"talent" show on TV and you'll find plenty of contestants who woulddo well to follow Mrs Brown's advice in their own dream pursuit.Anyone can sing, but not everyone should.So how do you know if you should?It's not simply a case of doing something, it's doing somethingexceptionally well and enjoying doing it. That's an "and" not an"or". I knew that I thoroughly enjoyed cooking but it takes othersto tell you if you do it exceptionally well. When you find out whatthat is, then you've found your talent. And everyone has somethingthat they do exceptionally well and thoroughly enjoying doing.Develop the talent you have, not the one you wantWhen I ask if you know what your talent is, you may struggle toidentify it. You may not be an exceptional musician or artist,actor or even a sports person. These are the types of things wetraditionally associate with the word "talent". You may think I'mreferring to your job. It could be and I hope that your job doesenable you to use your talent, but the chances are that you areunsure, and probably too humble to realise that you really do havetalent. But I can assure you that you do.The 10,000 hour rule

The 10000-hour rule is the idea that wehave to deliberately practice any activity for at least 10000 hoursbefore we are great at it

Malcolm Gladwell based his 10000 hour rule in his book Outlierson a study by Anders Ericson that it takes 10000 hours ofdeliberate practice to become great at something. Such 'greatness'is often confused with the "talent" that enables it. For yourtalent is rarely manifest as something great, usually, your t

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