Mastery

Mastery by GeorgeLeonard Plume books, 1992, ISBN 0452267560 (amazon.com, search)

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George Leonard writes about how people develop skill in challenging practices in several volumes Mastery, TheSilentPulse?, and TheUltimateAthlete? among them. This one is more or less a handbook on following the path of mastery, using examples from martial arts, piloting jet aircraft, and athletics. Leonard makes reference to the mysterious process by which technique begins as foreign, becomes automatic and unconscious, then the automatic, unconscious technique becomes itself the object of conscious study - it's foreign again. He talks about training plateaus and the commitment to the path, vs. a particular destination along the path. Developing Mastery can apply to any endeavor - it's a way to approach a practice. So Leonard's point of view can be applied to developing software, to working in or managing a business, for example. Or to the practice of teaching itself, another example he uses.

Leonard's work in this area is sometimes a bit inconsistent. Even so all of his books contain gems. He's a pretty good writer, in the journalistic tradition. And he writes from direct experience and personal concern.

Recommended - JamesBullock

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I haven't read any of Leonard's other works but this book made an impression on me akin to reading the works of GeraldWeinberg. This is probably because they share the same fondness for telling inspirational anecdotes. His idea of the path of mastery involves accepting that whilst "learning any new skill involves relatively brief spurts of progress, each of which is followed by a slight decline to a plateau" we must be willing to take difficult steps. This can mean giving up a successful way of doings things and deliberately getting worse in order to ingrain a better approach. The best bit about this book is the repeated theme that self-aware practice is both a joy in itself and the key to mastering your craft. This is one of those books that everyone should read.--AdewaleOshineye

There's another similarity between this book and Weinberg's work. Before health issues prevented him, Jerry used to practice Aikido, and used some Aikido demonstrations in his workshops.

There is a strong similarity between martial arts training and learning the practices of developing software. Connections between the fields pop up ranging from "pragmatic Dave's" Code Kata to AlistairCockburn using the levels of martial arts practice as examples of maturity with methodologies. Martial arts, particularly Aikido are disproportionately represented among software developers. There's also an essay on Weinberg's site talking about experiential learning workshops, specifically Weinberg's PSL, in terms of martial arts practice, specifically Aikido.

Building software is a skilled, personal practice, just like flying high-performance aircraft. If the Mastery point of view seems valid to you in general, or regarding software developement, other works on personal excellence would likely also be interesting. Try these:

• InSearchOfTheWarriorSpirit? - RichardHeckler?
• PeakPerformance? - Dr. Charles Garfield

-- JamesBullock

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