CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE ARTICLE ‘THE SECRET OF SUCCESS’ BY MICHAEL BOND (2014)

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Introduction

THE SECRET OF SUCCESS BY MICHAEL BOND, In this brief essay, the article by Michael Bond: ‘The Secret of Success’ (Bond, 2014), will be critically analysed and reviewed to highlight the fundamental themes and issues. The implications of the said report will also be identified and then evaluated in the context of the value of the personality theory for the recruitment strategy in contemporary business organisations. Towards the end, the main conclusions from the analysis will be listed and recommendations will be presented in accordance with the identified practical implications of the above-mentioned report.

Critical Review: Main Issues & Themes

The article by Michael Bond sheds an interesting light on childhood, growth and development and also carries out a valuable comparison between the values of genetic contribution, socio-economic factors and the nurturing environment provided to a child in modern societies.

The main issues and themes identified in the article include: factors leading to success, intellect, high performance and achievement in life; the contribution of genetics towards a child’s success in life; the importance of psycho-social and socio-economic factors in determining a child’s life path and career choices; the contribution of grit or perseverance and self-control towards success in life and career; the dangers associated with the fixed mind-sets; and the importance of open learning environments and dreams towards making children successful in life and career. All of these issues and themes will be critically analysed in the succeeding paragraphs.

Bond (2014) has introduced the main theme of the article by quoting from the US President Obama and the mayor of London, Boris Johnson. The former’s statement, though apparently relevant to the main theme of the article, has been quoted out of context as the President was really discussing equal socio-economic opportunities in a racially diverse USA.

On the other hand, the comments by Boris Johnson, at best, belong to a bygone era when genetics was considered to be the route of all problems, social, economic or psychological. It is felt that the former quote in general and the latter in specific have failed to establish a credible basis for the informal discussion in the latter part of the article.

Bond (2014) is of the opinion that there is no viable relationship between intellect or IQ and achievement. This opinion has been primarily based upon the findings of a time study by Lewis Termin in the 1920s, during which over 1500 Californian children were studied over a period of 25 years. Though, the opinion is considered to be quite valid in the light of various studies and researches in the previous century, it is felt that the opinion should have been substantiated by more recent studies like those by Lex Borghans and Nisbett (Balter, 2011). Furthermore, the link between higher IQs and propensity of drug use and other negative behaviour owing to the characteristic of openness to experience (Cherry, 2014), is also felt missing from the overall discussion.

According to Bond (2014), a child’s life path, career choices and even the level of IQ, are highly dependent upon various socio-economic and psycho-social and factors, both of which fall in the domain of environmental factors. The former relate to economic and financially stable childhood while the latter encompass emotionally stable parents and grooming environment. Children, deprived of both these, perform generally bad in later life, while those growing up in well to do families with supportive parents, perform well. The opinion is considered valid and supported by Badger (2013) in her article on the relationship between poverty and cognitive capabilities; and Sophie van der Sluis Et al. (2008) in their work on the interaction between the environment and genes towards determination of IQ scores.

The characteristics of grit or perseverance and self-control greatly contribute towards a successful performance in any field. Bond (2014) attributes this relationship to the propensity of practise and hard work. He claims that through sustained hard work and practise, everybody can achieve perfection in a chosen field; however, higher IQs make the learning paths shorter and easier. This opinion is again found valid as it has been confirmed by other authors and researchers. For instance, Sasson (2014) confirms a definite relationship amongst hard work, perseverance and success in life, while Tough (2013) claims in his book titled, ‘How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character’, that grit is even more important than talent in growing children.

Bond (2014) is of the opinion that stereotyping leads to creation of fixed mind-sets, which in turn curb the motivation to grow and improve amongst children. The opinion is based upon the perceived characteristics or limitations associated with gender or race. For instance, in the developing and under-developed countries, females do not perform well in professional lives, not because they are incapable of doing so, but because of a prevailing belief that women are a weaker sex. The opinion is therefore found to be logical and if addressed at an earlier stage, can lead to children performing well regardless of the original mind-sets. This view is also confirmed in an article by Clear (2014) on the constructive and destructive powers of belief and an essay by Ciotti (2014) on the nature of mind-sets associated with success.

According to Bond (2014), dreams are important and should be accorded priority by the parents regardless of their own choices for their children. Dreams should be nurtured through the provision of open and flexible learning environments and parents should be ready to accept initial failures and setbacks. The opinion, despite its idealistic value, appears to be lacking the requisite element of counselling. According to Davidoff (2012), children should be allowed to make choices, but these choices unless supported with requisite guidance and counselling, are liable to failure..