The Brutal Truth About Success Jeff Bezos and Reese Witherspoon Understand That You Don't

5/25/2020 The Brutal Truth About Success Jeff Bezos and Reese Witherspoon Understand That You Don't
nd Reese Witherspoon Understand That You Don't | Inc.com
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PRODUCTIVITY
The Brutal Truth About Success Jeff Bezos and Reese Witherspoon
Understand That You Don't From Reese Witherspoon to Jeﬀ Bezos, those who
are super successful in their chosen domain accept this truth.
BY JESSICA STILLMAN, CONTRIBUTOR, INC.COM @ENTRYLEVELREBEL
https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/physicists-have-discovered-a-formula-for-success-it-contains-a-brutal-truth-most-people-dont-want-to-admit.html 1/20
5/25/2020 The Brutal Truth About Success Jeff Bezos and Reese Witherspoon Understand That You Don't | Inc.com
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Success can feel mystical and mysterious. But then again, if you're ignorant of the
basic mechanics of the universe, so could gravity and the whirling of celestial bodies
in the sky. But then physics mapped out the forces that cause apples to fall and the sun to set.
Magic turned into simple equations.
The same transformation is possible with success, says physicist Albert-László Barabási in a
recent TED Ideas blog post. In it, the author and Northeastern University-based expert on
network theory explains how his team has developed a dead simple formula for success.
Drumroll, please. Here it is: S = Qr.
The simple math behind success
What does it mean? Success, or S, is the product of r, the potential value of a given idea, and Q,
a person's ability to execute on that idea--i.e., their "Q-factor," or combination of innate talent
and skill, which makes them e ective or not in their chosen eld.
"So, if an individual with a low Q-factor comes across a great idea with a huge r value, the
impact will still be mediocre, as the resulting product--or Qr--is diminished by the small Q-
factor. Fantastic idea, poor execution. Think Apple's rst handheld Newton, with its inept
handwriting recognition. The reverse also happens: A creative person with a high Q-factor can
put out multiple weak or mediocre--or low r--products," explains Barabási.
Occasionally, a great idea and exceptional skill collide. That's when you get epic success.
What this means for strivers
All of which seems logical, but is it useful? How can this equation help strivers increase their
chances of nding great success? In two ways, Barabási says.
First, the math proves that the more ideas you have--the more times you plug an r of whatever
value into the equation--the greater your chances of success. But you've probably heard that
before. We all know that tenacity is essential for success. (Even if some of us fail to realize this
means you can be successful at any age--all that matters is that you continue producing the
same quantities of ideas.)
But this equation also highlights another less often recognized but perhaps more essential
truth about success. It's one we don't talk about as much because it's not nearly as uplifting. In
short, personal quality matters and, sorry, while you can labor to get marginally better in a
given eld, if you just don't have what it takes, you just don't have what it takes.
Don't believe me? Math doesn't lie. "Once my team and I gured out how to measure a
scientist's Q-factor, we learned it remained unchanged throughout her career," says Barabási,
before anticipating readers' objections:
"The data was clear: We all start our careers with a given Q, high or low, and that Q-factor stays
with us until retirement. Well, I had a hard time believing that I was as good a scientist when I
wrote my rst research paper at 22, the one with absolutely zero impact, as I am now. And you
probably feel you weren't anywhere near as good a teacher, writer, doctor, or salesperson in
your 20s as you are now. However, we spent six months rechecking our ndings, and we came
to the same conclusion."
That sounds pretty depressing, and in some ways it is, but you don't get anywhere in life by
ignoring truths just because they're hard.
Self-awareness before con dence
There is an upside to accepting you are naturally lousy at some things and that, no matter how
hard you try, you will never be good enough at them to generate massive success. Face that
reality, and you avoid wasting your energy chasing fruitless dreams. Instead, you can pursue
other opportunities you're better suited for.
And no, this isn't the loser's consolation prize. Incredibly successful folks in many domains
have spoken publicly about how a clear-eyed understanding of their strengths and weaknesses
was essential for their success.
Je Bezos admitted that back in the day he wanted to be a physicist. "I thought I wanted to be
a scientist when I went to Princeton," he said. "Halfway through, I gured out I wasn't smart
enough to be a physicist." Instead, he switched to business, founded Amazon, and became--
and we can all agree this is no consolation prize--the world's richest man.
This isn't true just for those pursuing science or business success. Artists need similar clarity.
Academy Award-winner Reese Witherspoon believes in being brutally honest with her kids
about their talents, or lack thereof.
"I remember [my daughter] Ava crying in bed in third grade--she was on JV basketball and she
was the only kid on the team who didn't score. I said, 'Aves, maybe you're bad at basketball.'
She thought that was mean. I said, 'Mean or true? 'Cause, guess what? Your mom's bad at
basketball, too,'" she's related.
Witherspoon, like Bezos, no doubt understands how important your Q-factor is for success.
You either have it or you don't. That means throwing your energies into a eld where your
ability just isn't high enough is a recipe for misery (simply pursuing it for pleasure is totally
valid but di erent). Follow Bezos's example and switch to a path you're more suited for and
you can save yourself a lot of wasted energy and years.
That's why super successful people like Bezos and Witherspoon are brutally cold-eyed in
assessing their own abilities. Con dence and grit have their place, but only after you've
mastered self-awareness.
00:00 / 01:02
JAN 24, 2019
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.
READ NEXT
SAFEGUARDS
What the Future of Office Design Might Look Like Now Architects and
designers are rethinking the workspace for the age of coronavirus.
BY INC. EDITORIAL, INC. STAFF
Say goodbye to stainless steel--and hello to outdoor gardens.
The coronavirus pandemic might have some long-term e ects on the way we design our
o ces. As companies look to incorporate better sanitation and implement some of the things
they've learned during the crisis, many aspects of the o ce could change--from the materials
used for upholstery to the overall layouts of oor plans.
"People are asking existential questions like, 'What is the purpose of an o ce?' " says Nabil
Sabet, engineer and group director at international design rm M Moser. "Some of the habits
that we thought would take years to overcome are changing overnight."
The o ce as a whole
Keeping the o ce as germ-free as possible will require some material changes. Surfaces like
un nished wood, soft stone, and stainless steel can be breeding grounds for germs and
bacteria, says Nina Etnier, co-founder of New York-based interior designer Float Studio.
O ces might turn to furniture made of antimicrobial synthetic materials like Crypton, plus
metals like copper and brass for door handles and other high-touch surfaces, she adds.
Other touchpoints, like keypads and control panels for lighting, climate control, and A/V
systems, might be replaced with apps on employees' personal phones, says Kim Heartwell,
senior vice president at architectural rm CallisonRTKL.
Ultraviolet lights installed in ducts could purify air before it's blown out onto the o ce oor,
says Sabet. Architects might even make tweaks like curving the place where the oor meets
the wall. This can eliminate corners that collect lth and germs, a practice that some hospitals
have been using for decades.
Larger-scale changes may also be coming. With more employees working remotely, some desk
space could be converted into more thoughtfully designed open spaces, says Melissa Shelton,
president of Swiss design rm Vitra's North American operations. And companies will seek
out o ces with more access to outdoor space, says Etnier, both as a means of social distancing
and a way of making them more inviting to employees whose alternative is to stay home.
"The o ce will be purposely designed to be more than just a workplace," says Shelton. "It will
be a community place, a cultural place, a place of learning."
The workstation
For the sake of cleanliness, companies might have to reconsider the long-held tradition
of assigned desks. Forcing employees to remove their belongings at the end of each day will
allow for more e ective cleanings that can't happen when desks are covered with clutter, says
Sabet.
An alternative to that approach is to keep the dedicated work station but implement a "clean
desk policy": Each employee gets a cubby or locker in which to store things at the end of each
workday, and desk surfaces are cleaned each night.
"The employee is the only one in that space," says Shelton. "There won't be this introduction
of another person sitting in that chair or touching those surfaces."
Adding more separation between workstations--something being done out of necessity in the
short term--might become a long-term trend meant to give employees more privacy.
A more extreme measure: Rapt Studio co-founder David Galullo says the rm is working with
a client to design enclosed pods to replace traditional workspaces. The structures will have
four walls, some made of glass and some opaque.
The remote-friendly workplace
Many companies are considering alternating work schedules when they return to the o ce to
help enforce social distancing. That fact, combined with the realization that employees can be
just as e ective while working from home, might make remote work much more common in
the long term, says Galullo.
"For the longest time we've been talking about choice in the o ce: You can sit in a lounge
space or small huddle room or the outdoor patio, depending on what allows you to do your
best work," Galullo says. "I think in the future, we add the home workplace to that list." That
might mean employees come into the o ce on days when they have collaborative work and
stay home on days when they'll mostly be operating on their own.
Making that transition might require some technological changes. Companies are likely to
move their systems to a centralized location or the cloud so that work can be seamlessly
picked right up from home, says Sabet. It's an undertaking that for many companies has been
sped up given the current crisis.
Of course, working from home is possible to varying degrees given each employee's home
setup. As such, some companies are granting employees technology stipends. Twitter recently
announced that all employees--in addition to being able to work from home inde nitely--
will receive credits of up to $1,000 to upgrade their work-from-home setups.
Heartwell points out that laptops meant for gaming can serve as a ordable solutions for
employees in roles, like engineering or architecture, that use programs requiring high
processing power.
"Something a lot of companies have discovered is that where things break down is in the
technology capabilities of the person in their own home," says Heartwell. "So the very rst
step is making sure everyone has transportable technology."
THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS YOUR ESSENTIAL SMALL-BUSINESS SURVIVAL GUIDE.

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5/25/2020 The Brutal Truth About Success Jeff Bezos and Reese Witherspoon Understand That You Don't

nd Reese Witherspoon Understand That You Don't | Inc.com

NEWSLETTERS LEAD INNOVATE GROW

BY JESSICA STILLMAN, CONTRIBUTOR, INC.COM @ENTRYLEVELREBEL

Drumroll, please. Here it is: S = Qr.

The simple math behind success

What this means for strivers

before anticipating readers' objections:

Self-awareness before con dence

JAN 24, 2019

BY INC. EDITORIAL, INC. STAFF

Say goodbye to stainless steel--and hello to outdoor gardens.

The remote-friendly workplace

THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS YOUR ESSENTIAL SMALL-BUSINESS SURVIVAL GUIDE.

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