How do we know which of our successes and failures can be attributed to either skill or luck? That is the question that investment strategist Michael J. Mauboussin explores in his book The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports, and Investing . Wharton management professor Adam M. Grant recently sat down with Mauboussin to talk about the paradox of skill, the conditions for luck and how to avoid overconfidence. An edited transcript of the conversation follows. Adam M. Grant: Michael, we’re delighted to have you here today to talk about your book The Success Equation …. I would love to hear you speak a little bit about this paradox of skill that you have discovered and the relationship between luck and skill. Mauboussin: Let me first tell you what the definition of the “paradox of skill” is. Specifically, it says that in activities where skill and luck define outcomes, as skill improves, luck becomes more important in determining outcomes.…