Welcome to Compton!
Welcome to Compton!
We’re a business school for creative people. We believe education should be practical, flexible and affordable. On this site you’ll find workshops and masterclasses taught by leading creative practitioners. Explore our Free Membership, Library and Short Courses.
The Random Impact Rule
People think success comes in a steady, upward progression. But a large-scale study of scientists, artists and filmmakers shows something very different: breakthrough success can come at any point in your career. In fact, it’s randomly distributed.
The study, published in Nature, reviewed data for 20,040 scientists, 3,480 artists, and 6,233 film directors. The data showed that for all three occupations, the timing of the 3 major works a scientist, artist or filmmaker produced was completely random within the sequence of works produced.
In other words there’s no progression. The lightning bolt of success can strike at any time. Young or old, early career, mid-career or late career. Completely random.
There is always hope!
Intrigued? See The Science of Science by Dashun Wang and Albert-László Barabási.
David Court, March 19th, 2025