Another problem is the problem of goals. Athletes have a very clearly defined, concrete goal. Run fast. Jump high. Score points. Genius, on the other hand, seems to lie in being able to redefine goals, or at least modify goals to make them more attainable.
My intuition (and it really is nothing more than an intuition) is that we don’t (and shouldn’t) treat geniuses like athletes because genius and athletics are on opposite sides of the explore/exploit dichotomy. Genius is all about exploring a problem space, and finding new solutions (and maybe even new problems). Athletics is about executing a set of strategies with maximal efficiency to reach a goal by a known route, as quickly and with as little expenditure of energy as possible.
The dichotomy isn’t hard-and-fast. The best athletes will be able to come up with new tactics and use those to win games more efficiently. The best geniuses will be able to execute fairly competently and efficiently upon their ideas. But in terms of emphasis, I think genius is much more about exploration, with exploitation (or execution) being an afterthought. Athletics, on the other hand, is all about exploitation (or execution). While there may be some exploration, that exploration is necessarily constrained by the (fixed) rules of the game.
For this reason, I think applying athletics tactics or even athletics metaphors to genius is misguided.
I’d add that genius isn’t limited to producing value adding work for only a couple of hours a week. Nor are there a set number of geniuses which a company is allowed to employ.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t any lessons to learn but the dissimilarities mean the lessons won’t be straightforward.
Another problem is the problem of goals. Athletes have a very clearly defined, concrete goal. Run fast. Jump high. Score points. Genius, on the other hand, seems to lie in being able to redefine goals, or at least modify goals to make them more attainable.
My intuition (and it really is nothing more than an intuition) is that we don’t (and shouldn’t) treat geniuses like athletes because genius and athletics are on opposite sides of the explore/exploit dichotomy. Genius is all about exploring a problem space, and finding new solutions (and maybe even new problems). Athletics is about executing a set of strategies with maximal efficiency to reach a goal by a known route, as quickly and with as little expenditure of energy as possible.
The dichotomy isn’t hard-and-fast. The best athletes will be able to come up with new tactics and use those to win games more efficiently. The best geniuses will be able to execute fairly competently and efficiently upon their ideas. But in terms of emphasis, I think genius is much more about exploration, with exploitation (or execution) being an afterthought. Athletics, on the other hand, is all about exploitation (or execution). While there may be some exploration, that exploration is necessarily constrained by the (fixed) rules of the game.
For this reason, I think applying athletics tactics or even athletics metaphors to genius is misguided.
I’d add that genius isn’t limited to producing value adding work for only a couple of hours a week. Nor are there a set number of geniuses which a company is allowed to employ. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any lessons to learn but the dissimilarities mean the lessons won’t be straightforward.