When I was young, about seven I guess, the comics I read used to run contests of all kinds and print the winner’s names in the comic. When that happened I would always check the list to see if I had won. I never did.
The reason was that I never entered any of the contests. Even so, I would check the winner’s list to see if, magically, my name would appear. That’s magical thinking. One article from Scientific American defines magical thinking as
“the belief that an object, action or circumstance not logically related to a course of events can influence its outcome.”
Sometimes we call it superstition. Remember that thing about stepping on a crack and breaking mom’s back? Sometimes it’s silly, like me hoping to win a contest I didn’t enter. Sometimes magical thinking is a confidence-building ritual. My friend Jack had one of those. He swore that he sold better if he wore mismatched socks.
Magical thinking comes naturally to us. Matthew Hutson, author of The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking, says that “you are wired to find meaning in the world.”
That’s true, but the way you find meaning matters. Magical thinking is the opposite of analytical or critical or scientific thinking. In other words, it’s the opposite of the kind of thinking you need to create effective talent development where you work.
The best talent development programs consist of following rigorous processes with disciplined diligence to find, retain, and develop talent. In top programs, results are analyzed and processes are modified based on that analysis. They’re not magic, they’re method.
Great talent development programs don’t happen by accident or by magic. They happen because people like you put in the time and hard-headed analysis to make them work and make them better.
