Celebrities, Law Schools

3 Things Law Students And Young Lawyers Can Learn From Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov

Columnist Renwei Chung mines a recent commencement speech by the chess champion for wisdom.

By  
on

“Thought we weren’t coming but it seems you made an error /
Wrench in the mill work, systematic terror has arrived /
Cornered by the order / Checkmate sucker, not a move, game’s over!” 
— X-Clan

Last month, Russian chess Grand Master Garry Kasparov delivered the commencement address for Saint Louis University. Following his address, Kasparov received an honorary doctor of law from the university. It seems like only yesterday that Kasparov played IBM supercomputer “Deep Blue” in the ultimate match between man and machine. On his 17th birthday, Kasparov achieved the title of Grandmaster. In 1985, he became the youngest ever (22 years-old) to become the World Chess Champion, and he held the title for 15 years. In addition, Kasparov was ranked the No. 1 player in the world for 20 consecutive years, up until his retirement from professional chess in 2005. In other words, he is basically the Michael Jordan, Pete Sampras, and Joe Montana of chess. Here are some of my favorite passages from his speech:

1. Hard Work Is A Talent.

“You often hear in chess and other sports that ‘this player is more talented’ but ‘that player works harder.’ This is a fallacy. Hard work is a talent. The ability to keep trying when others quit is a talent. And hard work is never wasted. No matter what career you end up in, or even if you have a dozen different careers, the hard work represented here today will never be wasted. You being here shows that you have that talent and it will serve you well no matter how you decide to make a difference in this world. Human beings cannot upgrade our hardware, that’s our DNA. But with hard work we can definitely upgrade our mental software.”

Calvin Coolidge expressed the same sentiment as Kasparov when he said, “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” We can’t control what genes we inherit or our natural IQ, but we can dictate how hard we work, how much we focus, and how disciplined we become in our respective careers. The best things in life aren’t given to us, they are earned by us. Often times, resilience and persistence are the x-factors. The most successful lawyers I have met have made hard work a habit. Nothing can replace the sweat equity we put into our careers. Nothing yields a higher return on investment than hard work.

2. Hold Fast To Values.

“We can fight for our values or we can trade them away for comfort and temporary security. This is a challenge for all of us in today’s globally connected world. Every day we make choices large or small: individuals, companies, entire nations. . . . If America is to continue as a ‘light of the world’ it will be up to you and to your generation to hold fast to these values and not to trade them away for a safe and stagnant status quo. Risk is not only for entrepreneurs. Risk is for anyone who will fight for these values in their lives and in the world every day.”

Sponsored

As I’ve mentioned before, we’ll never be younger than we are today. Our youth and prime of life are fleeting. As George Bernard Shaw famously declared, “Youth is wasted on the young.” Our generation, the Millennials, is said to be the most racially tolerant of any generation. However, we may not be as racially tolerant as the media triumphs, or as we are led to believe. Still, in 2009 45% of Millennials believed in “improving the position of blacks and other minorities ‘even if it mean[t] giving them preferential treatment.’” Contrast our support with Gen Xers (30%), Boomers (27%), and the Silent Generation (25%), and you might believe our belief system and social construction could be quite different than of those before us. As Brian Easter, CEO of Nebo Agency, asks, “So the question is… can Millennials’ beliefs be turned into actions? Or, like the pigs of Animal Farm, will they become what they despise?”

Accidental activists do not exist. We cannot hope our way to change. Diversity needs to be fought for, it needs a voice. As Common raps in “Glory,” “No one can win the war individually. It takes the wisdom of the elders’ and young peoples’ energy.” Can Millennials disrupt the Biglaw status quo bias toward diversity? Yes, we can, and we will.

3. We Must Not Settle for “Good Enough.”

“We have heard time and again that the frontiers have all been explored. And every generation likes to say that everything important or easy has already been invented. Unfortunately, believing this can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think there is nothing new to discover, why try? Why take risks? Why leave the house? St. Louis was once the beginning of the unknown, the gateway to the frontier. Imagine if the pioneers had stopped at the Mississippi, the way America hasn’t sent a man back to the moon since Eugene Cernan in 1972. We cannot turn back. We cannot stop. We must not settle for ‘good enough.’”

As I noted previously, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich has pledged $300 million to increase the company’s workforce diversity. In his keynote speech, Krzanich stated, “It’s not good enough to say we value diversity and then underrepresent women and minorities. Intel wants to lead by example.” Which law firms this year will also lead by example? As highlighted by Time, “Silicon Valley has long been considered a boy’s club, with major tech companies like Twitter and Google revealing demographics that skew toward white, male workers.” Is the legal profession any different?

Sponsored

Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, has become a powerful voice for women in the science and technology fields. Sandberg recently stated, “No industry or country can reach its full potential until women reach their full potential. This is especially true of science and technology, where women with a surplus of talent still face a deficit of opportunity… I know from my own experience that the path to change is best traveled when we travel together.” Many agree with Sandberg that diversity makes teams smarter, leads to better decisions, and helps groups solve problems more effectively. Who among the Am Law 200 managing partners is willing to be the voice for diversity that the legal field so desperately needs? Who among us will speak candidly about diversity in the legal profession? We have come too far to just turn back. We cannot stop. We must not settle for good enough.

Hard work, values, and refusing to settle helped Kasparov become a World Chess Champion, writer, and political activist. No doubt, these three things could also serve as the blue print for success in our legal careers. We may all start from a different opening set, but it is how we play the game that will ultimately determine our fate.

Renwei Chung is the Diversity Columnist at Above the Law. You can contact Renwei by email at projectrenwei@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn. 

Topics

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,