I’m thinking about writing another book.
But it’s a TON of work. So, before I do it, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the topic before I invest a full year getting up at 5 am to write 2 pages per day. On top of my day job!
What's it about?
Well...I’ll start with a personal story.
THE OVERLOOKED, LATE BLOOMER
The picture above is of my oldest son and me. He attends a tiny college in the middle of nowhere and plays for their soccer team that, historically, hasn’t won many games.
But last year was different.
His team went undefeated in their league, won the league title, and went on to win a postseason tournament. The first in the college’s history.
Now, in the grand scheme of the global soccer universe, this picture captured a relatively small event.
They play in the lowest division of college soccer in a league that typically doesn't produce national champions. It's not exactly the World Cup, but for me, this photo captured something far more meaningful.
As you can see from the image, he was certainly thrilled. But look at the smile on my face. It was a window into all the emotions I was feeling inside. This was truly one of the happiest days of my life.
Not because I’m a basic, proud soccer dad. But because I know the story of what it took for him to arrive on that field, in that moment, after scoring the game-winning goal.
He IS the story of a classic, overlooked late bloomer.
And this story is so pervasive in sports, in life -- and especially in business -- that I feel compelled to write about it.
4 REASONS WHY PEOPLE ARE OVERLOOKED
If you have children who play sports, you’ve probably been sucked into the vortex of travel sports insanity. If you don’t have kids, you probably know a parent who complains about it.
You pay thousands of dollars every year for your kid to be put through a meat grinder of coaches, clinics, travel, and physical exhaustion, with the carrot of a professional contract or a college scholarship dangling at the other end of a stick.
But it rarely ends up that way.
In fact, only 0.9% of boys make it to a Division 1 soccer roster. The odds of someone making it to the professional ranks are much worse at only 0.08%.
But this article (and the proposed book) isn’t about sports.
It’s about the people in your organization who have the potential to be superstars but haven’t hit your radar yet because they lack 4 important things:
A Credible Sponsor
A Strategic Angle
A Pivotal Chance
A Supportive Guide
Despite my son's odds (which I’ll describe below), he had these 4 things. And that's what led to his opportunity to overachieve last season.
But not everyone knows how to deploy these 4 steps, and it's costing them success in life AND millions of dollars over the course of their career.
BEING OVERLOOKED IS COSTING YOU MILLIONS!
As you can see in the picture, you might notice WHY my son was overlooked as an athlete early in his career.
He’s pretty small. He’s all of 5’ 5” with cleats on. And he weighs about 130 lbs wet. Not exactly the poster child of a 6-foot, barrel-chested American college soccer player.
Likewise, every year in companies all around the world, professionals are overlooked too -- but for different reasons.
Maybe they went to a community college (not a well-known university).
Maybe they worked two jobs in college, so they didn’t have the best grades.
Maybe they worked at an unknown company early in their career.
Or maybe they took a role beneath them, just to get their foot in the door.
The end result?
These overlooked employees aren’t valued as much. And they don’t climb the ranks as fast as those who had more of a blue-chip career path.
To be honest, I think companies are lazy in this regard.
They rely on outdated shortcuts for identifying talent. As a result, it takes longer for leaders to see a late bloomer's potential because they don't have the classic markers of a high-potential individual.
So what happens?
Late bloomers sit in smaller roles throughout their twenties and thirties, waiting for someone to notice them or for something to happen that thrusts them into the spotlight.
This career delay costs them hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars in lost income. And when they bounce around from company to company looking for their big break, their resume looks even worse, and their prospects for advancing are further diminished.
All the while, companies are missing out on viable talent and losing millions of dollars too, when the talent they claim DOESN'T EXIST was right under their nose the whole time.
SO WHAT CAN WE DO?
Companies are FILLED with high-potential, overlooked, late bloomers.
But what can we do with them?
How can we fast-track human potential for those who didn't have the best start to their career?
Instead of relying on traditional, early markers of talent, what if we deployed a later-stage framework for those who didn't fit the mold early on in life?
That was the question I asked myself when my son didn't physically develop as fast as the other boys in his cohort.
And the solution was how my son ended up playing college soccer, scoring a game-winning goal in a championship final when no college coach would even look at him just 18 months earlier.
The process of doing this for overlooked, underpaid, “late bloomers” at work is the topic I'm considering in this new book.
SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Does this topic have legs?
Would you like to learn more about the 4 keys to identifying overlooked talent — aka “Late Bloomers”?
Would you like to see a playbook for transforming late bloomers into top performers who exceed your expectations and fill your company with an untapped pool of strong leaders?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments. If you do, I’ll put you on my list of early reviewers of the outline and the manuscript!
If you don't, I'll take it as a signal that this phenomenon is limited to sports and the late bloomer concept isn't as relevant in corporate America.
Thanks in advance!
// Supporting Resources
Here is a list of high-value assets based on the article.
📚 Books to Read
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck: This book explores the difference between fixed and growth mindsets, directly relevant to understanding how individuals and organizations perceive potential and development. It offers a framework for fostering growth. Book Link Here
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth: Duckworth's research highlights the importance of sustained passion and effort toward achieving long-term goals, providing a counter-narrative to the idea that early talent predicts all success. Book Link Here
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell: Gladwell's work frequently challenges conventional wisdom about success, often showcasing how environment, opportunity, and overlooked factors contribute to high achievement, resonating with the "late bloomer" theme. Book Link Here
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg: This book delves into the science of habit formation, which can be applied to creating organizational systems that consistently identify and develop overlooked talent. Book Link Here
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear: Clear's practical guide to small, incremental improvements aligns with the idea of building systems to support sustained growth and recognizing individuals who make consistent, quiet progress. Book Link Here
📄 Articles to Skim
"The Art of Blooming Late" by Kevin Evers (Harvard Business Review): This article directly addresses the topic, providing data and arguments for why organizations should broaden their definition of talent and look beyond early indicators. Full Article Here
"The new possible: How HR can help build the organization of the future" (McKinsey & Company): The article discusses how Human Resources (HR) leaders can help organizations adapt to and prepare for a post-pandemic future by moving away from traditional hierarchical management. Full Article Here
"Nurturing Talent In The Workforce: Promoting From Within" by Tammy Sons (Forbes): A practical article that provides tips for managers on how to identify and support employees who may not fit traditional high-potential profiles. Full Article Here
"Resume-Free Hiring Strategies" (Trend Hunter): This article challenges the conventional reliance on prestigious backgrounds, advocating for a more inclusive and effective approach to talent acquisition. Full Article Here
"Embracing late bloomers in the workplace" (CBC News): This article emphasizes that these "late bloomers" are found across all professions and bring unique value to organizations. Full Article Here
🖼️ Visual Frameworks (Images/PDFs)
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (Adapted for Career Growth): A visual pyramid that illustrates how foundational needs (like security and belonging) must be met before individuals can pursue higher-level career aspirations (self-actualization/impact). It can be adapted to show how overlooked employees may be stuck at lower levels if their basic professional needs aren't recognized. See Here
The Talent vs. Effort Matrix: A simple 2x2 matrix with "Talent" on one axis and "Effort/Grit" on the other, highlighting different types of high-performers, including those with high effort but perhaps less initially obvious "talent." See Here
The Iceberg Model of Competency: An image depicting an iceberg, with only a small portion visible above water (representing obvious skills/knowledge) and a much larger portion submerged (representing hidden social role, self image, etc.). See Here
The 70-20-10 Model for Learning & Development: This visual shows that 70% of learning comes from experience, 20% from relationships, and 10% from formal training. It reinforces the need for experiential opportunities for late bloomers. See Here
🎥 Videos to Watch
Angela Duckworth: Grit: The power of passion and perseverance (TED Talk): Directly from the author of "Grit," this talk emphasizes sustained effort and passion over innate talent as a predictor of success. Watch Here
Carol Dweck: The power of believing that you can improve (TED Talk): Dweck discusses the concept of "mindset" and how believing in the ability to grow and learn impacts success, particularly for those who may not be seen as naturally gifted. Watch Here
Adam Grant: The surprising habits of original thinkers (TED Talk): Grant explores the traits of original thinkers, often highlighting how they are not necessarily the fastest starters, aligning with the "late bloomer" concept. Watch Here
Why specializing early doesn't always mean career success (TEDx Talk by David Epstein, author of "Range"): In his TED Talk, David Epstein argues that specializing early in a career doesn't always lead to success and that a "sampling period" of trying different activities and building diverse skills can be more beneficial in the long run. Watch Here
✍️ Blog Posts to Read
"Confessions of a Late Bloomer" by Scott Barry Kaufman: This article explores the concept of late blooming, challenging societal expectations of early achievement and highlighting how many individuals, including famous figures, find their groove and achieve success later in life. Full Post Here
"5 Candidates You're Overlooking (& Why They May Be Your Best Hire Yet)" from Yello: his article directly addresses the idea of overlooking candidates (passive, referred, non-traditional, runner-up, internal) and makes a strong case for why these individuals can be excellent hires. Full Post Here
"How to Identify and Develop High-Potential Employees" from Primalogik: This article provides a comprehensive guide on identifying HiPos, including traits to look for and methods like 9-Box grids and psychometric assessments. Full Post Here
"The Impact of a Growth Mindset in Employee Training" from Alexium: This article directly discusses how a growth mindset in training encourages employees to see challenges as opportunities and mistakes as lessons, leading to adaptability, innovation, and resilience in the workforce. Full Post Here
🔗 Social Media Posts
LinkedIn Post by Sahil Bloom: Bloom often shares insights on unconventional paths to success. See Post Here
Twitter Post by Vala Afshar : Afshar frequently creates posts on unconventional success, career growth, and overlooked strengths. See Post Here
Instagram Post by @trusttheprocessquotes: trusttheprocessquotes often posts motivational content about perseverance and non-traditional success. See Post Here