Marc Andreesson just posted some great research he found about the role of a person's age in their career performance. Here's his summary of the data:

• Generally, productivity -- output -- rises rapidly from the start of a career to a peak and then declines gradually until retirement.
• This peak in productivity varies by field, from the late 20s to the early 50s, for reasons that are field-specific.
• Precocity, longevity, and output rate are linked. "Those who are precocious also tend to display longevity, and both precocity and longevity are positively associated with high output rates per age unit." High producers produce highly, systematically, over time.
• The odds of a hit versus a miss do not increase over time. The periods of one's career with the most hits will also have the most misses. So maximizing quantity -- taking more swings at the bat -- is much higher payoff than trying to improve one's batting average.
• Intelligence, at least as measured by metrics such as IQ, is largely irrelevant.

The second to last point is particularly relevant to entrepreneurs. You have to try if you want to succeed and if you want to succeed more, try more.

Posted by JoshC at August 8, 2007 8:56 AM

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.joshchristie.com/weblog/mt/mt-tb.cgi/201

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference 'Your age and your career' from Josh Christie's Weblog.

 

Name:


Email Address (not published):


URL:

Remember personal info?
YesNo
Comments: