Unrepeatable

There’s an easily observable phenomenon in the world of mutual funds. Bad fund managers continue being bad. On the other hand, most “good” fund managers rapidly become mediocre fund managers or worse, bad fund managers.Sometimes, it’s because funds identify investment strategies that work, for a while. Often, it’s because funds happen, by chance, to hold last year’s winning stocks.Something similar happens in the workplace.An employee uncovers an insight that leads to a desirable outcome - More customers! More revenues! More profit! Rather than trust the process and skills that helped uncover the insight, this employee continues making decisions on this aging knowledge. As the novelty of the insight diminishes, so does its relevance and value to the business. A “high-performing” employee becomes a mediocre one.Don’t mistake “hot-hands” for skill. Don’t mistake knowledge for competence. Instead, focus on asking yourself if you have the tools to go uncover the next big insight. The half-life of knowledge is surprisingly short.