What does it take to get good at something? About 10,000 hours of practice according to the experts.
And this is true, whether it’s playing a violin, building a house or paving a road. Of course 10,000 hours works out to five years of work, eight hours a day 50 weeks a year.
Curiously, this is about how long apprenticeships last. Formal apprenticeships in construction trades are rare now save for electricians and union training. But if your a construction company owner or operations manager this is something you need to understand, especially if you intend to train from within. It’s a slow process.
The military has long known this. They generally realize it takes about four to five years to make a good soldier, and about 10 years to make a NCO or officer capable of leadership. There are no shortcuts, something a lot of people in this age of instant information seem to forget.