They tell the story of Willie Wood, who showed up at Green Bay Packers training camp, sprinted to the end zone, jumped to grab the goalpost, then started doing pullups.

This burst of energy impressed coach Vince Lombardi, who decided then and there that he wanted Wood on his team.

Whether or not the story is true in all its details, Lombardi certainly picked a good player in Wood. He helped the Packers win a couple of Super Bowls, and wound up in the pro football Hall of Fame.

Not every story turns out as well as this one did. People choose the wrong players, the wrong employees and even the wrong mates all the time. This costs time, money and, yes, dignity.

If your life involves having to make the right choice about people — and it does — then one question could change your life:
Is reading people an innate skill, or can it be learned?

This question may be impossible to answer without a study (or maybe even with a study), but one idea can point us in the right direction.

With each passing day we are learning that skills and abilities we once thought to be innate can be acquired through practice. That being the case, you suspect that reading people is a skill that can be improved.

What do you think? Is reading people an innate ability, or is it a skill that can be acquired?

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Would you like to improve at what you do? “The Improvement Factor: How Winners Turn Practice into Success” can show you how! Are you a coach? “Ten Things Great Coaches Know” can make you a better one.