I was not a great student in school. If I was very interested in a subject area, I did well. But if I was not interested in the subject, I did poorly. My short attention span for those subjects that I found boring did not make for a world-beating report card. But good grades aren’t everything and a person can still do well in life without a stellar grade-point-average (GPA) in high school or college.
A study of seven-hundred millionaires showed that their average GPA was 2.9 and that valedictorians of high school classes go on to see much less success after graduation than those peers with more middling grades. This is because the skills that are rewarded in school, such as doing what you are told, are not valued as much in the job world and tend to hold workers and entrepreneurs back. Grades reward conformity and the willingness to work within a strictly designed system. Many brilliant students see their jobs as getting the best grades, but not in focusing on learning the material that is taught.
Karen Arnold, a professor at Boston College, performed a study in which she tracked the future success of a large group of high school valedictorians and salutatorians. From her study, she noted that while this group of high-GPA achievers did go on to do well in college and excelled at careers after college, there were very few risk-takers or world-changers in that group.
Arnold noted that in an individual field, “Even though most are strong operational achievers, the great majority of former high school valedictorians do not appear to be headed for the very top of adult achievement arenas. Valedictorians aren’t likely to be the future’s visionaries; they typically settle into the system instead of shaking it up. They’re extremely well-rounded and successful, personally and professionally, but they have never been devoted to a single area in which they put all their passion. That is not usually a recipe for eminence.”
After school ends, we all go on to work in fields that value true and specialized expertise. Learning to be a generalist in high school does not lead to the focused expertise that is later valued in most every field. If you are working as an accountant, then your boss does not care if you know history or science. Just balance his books.
Students who excel in traditional schoolwork do not necessarily love learning; they typically love excelling at getting good grades. The learning part of that is a byproduct. Arnold found that many kids who struggle in high school are interested and passionate about just one subject and want to spend a great amount of time on that subject to master it. This passion does not play well in the generalist grades department, so the stifling demands of traditional schooling can cause frustration in smart but focused students who just want to graduate and follow their passions.
School has clear rules to be able to succeed, but work life and pursuing a career after college does not. The real world is a much greyer environment where far different skills are rewarded. The ability to work with a team of peers. The comfort to take risks where the outcome is uncertain. The ability to speak in public and sell your ideas. The ability to envision the future of a market or sector. The ability to communicate clearly and be a leader. Sound judgement. These very valuable traits are not taught in school, but they can make the difference between big success and crushing failure later in life.
Eric Barker, an author who also writes the very popular Barking Up the Wrong Tree blog, says, “Following the rules doesn’t create success; it just eliminates extremes – both good and bad. While this is usually good in that it eliminates downside risk, it also frequently eliminates earthshaking accomplishments. It’s like putting a governor on your engine that restricts the car from going over 55 mph; you’re far less likely to get into a lethal crash, but you won’t be setting any land speed records either.”
While dropping out of college to pursue a dream is not a recommended course of action, some of the most famous and wealthy businessman in the world have followed that path. The list is in fact long and distinguished: Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Thomas Edison, Richard Branson, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, Walt Disney and Andrew Carnegie. There is no such list that lays out the names of all the people who quit college and failed spectacularly. That list is surely long as well. Even so, the above list contains people who had a great business idea, knew they had to start the business now, and could not be constrained by the daily tasks of going to classes, scribbling notes and answering test questions.
If you struggle to meet expectations in school, then take comfort as you are in great company. School grades are not the only path to success in the world after school. Passion, interest, focus, entrepreneurship, a stomach for risk taking, confidence and perseverance are much more valued in the working world than simply being great at taking tests.
