The Gold Mine Effect: Crack the Secrets of High Performance

I picked up this book after hearing about it on a sports-related podcast. I was struck by the fact we still struggle to understand what creates great teams and why certain areas become hotspots of talent or greatness. Newsflash--even the trained experts aren't necessarily good at picking talent early or knowing why talent develops in some areas (even with small populations) while it does not in others.I'd suggest picking this up if you are a youth, high school, or college coach to understand how winning cultures are developed.

Got the Kindle Edition. The concepts explored here are intriguing and the author does a great job of exploring them succinctly and from many angles. I’ve always felt that East Africans and Jamaicans were just better culturally at fostering talent, more than having some genetic advantage. So I’m sure I’m working with some confirmation bias, but the author seems to leave no room for doubt, which is good considering the data.It’s getting 4-stars because the Kindle version is riddled with typos. Hire an editor/proofreader next time!

That we are on his Earth to make it a better place through beng the best we can be is a keyr ealisation. The question then becomes how do we become the best we can be? In answering that question or going a long way towards answering it is what this book is about. An enjoyabale, memorable read.

A trip around the world giving us a look at how these pockets of ‘goldmines’ develop and the leaders who develop world class athletes.

Too long, too many examples but once you wade through, the results and messages are inescapable and worth the work.

Disappointed with this book. It came highly regarded but I felt it didn't really have anything particularly original.I worked hard to stick with it as at times I felt the author was padding it out.I did like the passages about elite performers can be developed from athletes who may not be considered the stars at early stages of their careers. I am a firm believer that there is, for a variety of reasons, plenty of undeveloped potential in all areas of life but this wasn't enough for me to feel the book wasn't worth reading.

If you can ignore the typos and missing or incorrect words on every page of the ebook there are some interesting stories of drive and hard work as the key to accomplishment.

Puzzled by the negative reviews. Having read many well known books on this topic, including Bounce and The Talent Code, this one is by the far the best and most usable with a level of depth, honesty and practicality that is lacking in the others. Highly recommended.

Gives some really good anecdotal examples of how we dampen our children's desire, determination and motivations to compete and strive for sporting excellence in what really comes down to the culture and environment that is created at high performance centres compared to the limitations abroad in countries like Russia yet the amount of players they produce in comparison to the UK is astounding. The section looking at the pushy parents was really interesting and truthful as this has become a real topic of scrutiny in recent times and I feel Rasmus provides an excellent yet different perspective on things. The reason why it was just okay was because of the limited depth and detail to the insightful and meaningful deep rooted perspectives that make it less like a novel and more academically rigorous and sound.

Rasmus Ankersen was praised a lot in one of my favourite books “Football Hackers” by Christoph Biermann so I was keen to hear more from the man himself. Sadly this book is a little over simplified and barely scratches the surface past sports comparisons. The book claims to crack the secrets of high performance in both sports and business but I felt that the book weighed heavily on success in sports with very little cross over to the business world.

The ideas in the book are presented clearly and references are made to books and ideas I have already read so in a way it has just strenghtened my confirmation bias.The book could do with better editing as many words are not completely spelled and some sentences/ideas already pointed out has been rehashed.Overall though I found it very useful and enlightening.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. At times i thought this could have been said in shorter version.However, I was intellectually stimulated by the comparisons and his take on what is talent, the 10 000 hour rule and the role of parental push to get over a certain threshold before the athlete really enjoys making the effort required to walk in the company of the best.As a sport psychology consultant, i am amazed at how elite coaches fluff with words when i ask them what they are looking for in an athlete or what is the talent they require as coach to be confident that their investment will produce desired results. This book reinforced an unsaid opinion. Talent is a construct - a word created to help us say what we cant see and measure. By contrast, for example, the 10 000 hour rule suggests that effort and who wants it more is a more useful and tangible predictor/measure of sporting success.Lastly, I do not like the rating of "I love it" for material things.

Good book with many wider applications to both life and businessThe book tails off a bit at the end presenting a clear opportunity with defining future gold mines that exist or suggesting future trends.I’m sure the author has similar topics planned for future books 🧐.