What gets rewarded: hard work or natural talent? The answer may surprise you.
Entrepreneurs brag about suffering and struggle. But is that what their followers admire most?
Entrepreneurs often like to share a hero’s journey story along the lines of, “I’m not a natural. Nothing came easy for me. It’s all about work. Luck had nothing to do with it.”
A recent article in Inc (reported in Inc This Morning) discussed another article published eight years ago. The Inc article’s author, Jeff Haden, suggests that hiring managers tend to give more weight to natural talent than to hard work.
As reported in the Inc article, researchers conducted two studies.
In one study, participants listened to a piece of music. Half were told the musician was a natural; half were told he had worked hard to become a professional. Listeners gave higher ratings to the natural, predicting more success and suggesting he had greater talent.
A second study with a similar design featured a pitch from an entrepreneur. Half the participants were told he was a natural at business; the other half that he’d have to work hard to get there.
