(Excerpt from The Star Principle by Richard Koch)
… nearly all successful entrepreneurs stress the importance of hard work. But so do 95 per cent or more of all executives, successful or unsuccessful, entrepreneurs or corporate apparatchiks. There is no evidence that hard work, rather than other common attributes such as determination, vision, egotism and the ability to generate new ideas and believe in them, is the source of success. What is clearly true is that a huge number of unsuccessful entrepreneurs and unsuccessful managers work extremely hard. It’s also plain that some wealthy entrepreneurs, such as Donald Trump, Warren Buffett, Richard Branson and now Bill Gates, spend a lot of time doing things other than work (having fun, broadcasting, philanthropy). My own experience is that, as I have made more money and started more successful ventures, the less I have worked. Hard work is either a red herring, or negatively correlated with success.