It’s Not Just 10,000 Hours 12-1-25 - Becker Business

Becker Business Podcast: “It’s Not Just 10,000 Hours”

Host: Scott Becker
Date: December 1, 2025
Episode Focus: Debunking and expanding upon the “10,000 Hour Rule” for mastery in business and life.

Overview

In this concise episode, Scott Becker explores the well-known “10,000 Hour Rule”—the idea that mastery in any field requires 10,000 hours of practice. He goes beyond the surface, arguing that simply racking up hours is not enough. Deliberate practice, feedback, and expert guidance are essential ingredients for real improvement, whether in athletics, business, or personal growth.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The 10,000 Hour Rule: What’s Missing?

The Concept:
Scott opens by acknowledging the popularity of the 10,000-hour idea:

"Much has been written about to get great in anything that you have to do 10,000 hours or 10,000 reps... this has been well discussed. It's often a constant on Twitter about the 10,000 hours and the repetition and the grind and so forth." (01:00)
Critical Addition:
But he quickly pivots:

"You could do 10,000 hours of something and still be awful at it if you don't periodically look up and get advice and get thoughts and ideas." (01:40)

2. The Importance of Deliberate Practice

Citing Newer Wisdom:
Scott recalls a key insight from an unnamed author:

"I forget whose book it was where they talked about deliberate practice." (01:25)
Example from Sports:
He uses a friend’s tennis habit to underscore the pitfall of undirected repetition:

"I have a friend of mine who only hits forehands in tennis... not making the effort to really work on the other parts of his game that are so important." (02:00)
Broader Application:
Scott draws a parallel to golf and business, emphasizing that both require strategic adjustment, not just effort.

3. The Role of Expertise and Feedback

Personal Anecdote:
Sharing his own experience with podcasting:

"Recently got expert help from a firm that audits podcasts... got advice on trying to make the podcast experiment better." (02:45)
Scott notes that outside perspective is crucial for advancement.
Publishing Example:
On writing and promoting a book:

"If I don't get clarity as to what it takes to do that, it's very hard to do it and do it right. I could put in a ton of effort and a lot of it's meaningless, unless doing it the right way." (03:15)

4. The Broader Lesson: Combine Effort with Smarter Learning

Scott’s Core Message:

"If I'm not getting expert advice to go with the 10,000 hours and hours, then I'm not really making any progress." (03:50)
"The reality is, it's not just the 10,000 hours. 10,000 hours plus thinking and adjusting." (04:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the myth of unqualified repetition:

"You could do 10,000 hours of something and still be awful at it if you don't periodically look up and get advice and get thoughts and ideas." — Scott Becker (01:40)
On the value of feedback:

"If I don't get that advice, I don't get better." — Scott Becker (02:50)
The summary in a line:

"It's not just the 10,000 hours. 10,000 hours plus thinking and adjusting." — Scott Becker (04:00)

Timestamps for Important Segments

00:00 – 00:45: Podcast intro and topic overview
01:00 – 01:40: Introduction of the 10,000-hour concept and its limitations
02:00 – 02:20: Tennis and deliberate practice example
02:45 – 03:15: Value of expert advice and podcasting anecdote
03:15 – 03:50: Publishing project and the importance of targeted effort
04:00: The take-home message: deliberate practice and adjustment

Tone and Takeaways

Scott Becker’s tone is conversational and self-reflective, blending personal anecdotes and practical wisdom. The central thesis: persistent effort is vital, but true mastery comes only when deliberate practice is combined with feedback and a willingness to adjust.

Summary:
If you’re pursuing excellence—whether in business, sports, or creative work—don’t just clock the hours. Seek feedback, embrace deliberate learning, and stay open to change. As Scott Becker puts it:

“It’s not just the 10,000 hours. 10,000 hours plus thinking and adjusting.” (04:00)

Transcript

A (0:00)

This is Scott Becker with the Becker Business and the Becker Private Equity podcast. We try and bring you twice a day rapid, efficient business briefings that talk about either a specific market issue or a specific business issue. We hope you enjoy these and thank you for listening. Today's discussion is the 10,000 hour rule. So here's the issue. Much has been written about to get great in anything that you have to do 10,000 hours or 10,000 reps or something to really get good at. And this has been well discussed. It's often a constant on Twitter about the 10,000 hours and the repetition and the grind and so forth. And I think there's a lot of truth to that. But I will tell you that there's almost a better take in it and I forget whose book it was where they talked about deliberate practice. So the real concept in 10,000 hours is you could do 10,000, 10,000 hours of something and still be awful at it if you don't periodically look up and get advice and get thoughts and ideas. I have a friend of mine who only hits forends in tennis and so rather than doing deliberate practice, he's constantly working on that forehand and not making the effort to really work on the other parts of his game that are so important. So it's both the 10,000 hours plus deliberate practice plus feedback and expertise. Similarly, same friend is a, is a really, really good athlete but plays very inconsistent golf. He's not willing to really think about how he's got to improve and adjust and that friend will rename Nameless today. Similarly, with myself, I could put in a lot of grind in something, but periodically, if I don't look up and get expert help. Recently got expert help from a firm that audits podcast and reviews podcasts and got advice on trying to make the podcast experiment better in timbre. The podcast. If I don't get that advice, I don't get better. Similarly, we're working on a project to make one of the books we wrote a bestseller. If I don't get clarity as to what it takes to do that, it's very hard to do it and do it right. I could put in a ton of effort and a lot of it's meaningless. Less doing it the right way. Again, the same concept with golf swings and everything else. If I'm not getting expert advice to go with the 10th and hours and hours, then I'm not really making any progress. So the reality of all this stuff is it's, it's not just the 10, 10,000 hours. 10,000 hours plus thinking and adjusting. That's today's discussion. Thank you for listening to the Becker Business, the Becker Private Equity Podcast. Do us a favor. If you can go to Amazon and buy Scott Becker's new book, Building Great Businesses. Create Momentum. Scale with Confidence. Overcome Setbacks. That book's available for pre order and hardcover on Amazon. We would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much for listening to the Becker Business and the Becker Private Equity Podcast. And thank you to our producer, Chanel Bunger. Thank you very much.