Should You Specialise or Be a Generalist?

Four and a half years ago, I found myself searching for work. It was the peak of COVID, and the hospitality industry I worked in had laid off almost everyone due to a significant drop in revenue.

Staring at an empty resume, I wondered what kinds of roles I should even apply for. Up to that point, I had worked for a slew of startups and small companies, feeling like I had never learned the ‘proper’ way to do things. I had worked jobs in 15 different fields.

Despite working extremely hard for six years, I felt like I had no specialty. I wasn’t particularly amazing at anything; I was just good at a variety of things and okay at a few more. The lack of job opportunities further eroded my self-confidence. It was at this low point that I spoke with my friends, who recommended I read "Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World" by David Epstein.

This book changed everything.

The Specialisation Narrative

We have a widespread belief that specialisation is the key to success, especially in fields like sports and music, where breakout talents emerge at very early ages due to their single-minded focus on one task and outcome.

However, studies show this isn’t always true. A Harvard study examined 400 students seeking investment banking roles after graduating and found that generalists not only received more job offers but were sometimes offered up to $48,000 more than their specialist counterparts.

Yet, it often doesn’t feel that way. When you’re at level 5 in several areas and see a colleague who is at level 20 in one area, it’s hard not to feel behind.

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The Wicked World

The world is wicked, meaning its rules are unclear, ever-changing, and often feedback is delayed.

Generalists perform better in wicked environments because they have a breadth of experiences to draw from. For example, if you’re a data analyst who is an expert in R (a coding language) and the world stops using it, you will struggle. However, a data analyst who knows multiple systems and understands business practices is more likely to adapt and thrive.

The Outsider Advantage

When I started an education business in 2020, I had transformative ideas for recruitment and education. My opinions and ideologies were divisive, met with resistance from many ‘experts’ and ‘specialists.’

"What's your pedagogical design process for education?" "Who is your learning design expert?" "I don’t think you understand how recruitment works."

Despite the naysayers, we have trained over 33,000 people and received thousands of positive feedback, demonstrating our impact. My diverse knowledge from the tech sector and education provided a unique ‘outsider perspective.’

Innovation often comes from outsiders who aren’t entrenched in the established ways of doing things. Richard Branson, for example, ventured into multiple industries with no specialised knowledge, leading to numerous successful ventures. David Epstein himself is another example, bringing fresh insights into sports science and human performance in his book "The Sports Gene."

Why AI has made this more important

Technological inflection points often combine roles. In my article "Are you Ready to Wear Multiple Hats?” - I discuss how specialists are less resilient to change. If your skillset becomes obsolete, what will you do?

I worry about taxi drivers when self-driving cars roll out, graphic designers when AI design takes over, photographers when AI photoshoots become the norm, and video editors when editing is automated.

It’s hard to predict which roles will be needed in the future. The best preparation is to become a generalist. Even if 20% of your skills become redundant, you still have others to rely on. A taxi driver who knows finance and a bit of product development is far ahead of one who knows nothing else.

How to Become a Generalist

Here are my tips on how to become more of a generalist over time:

1. Develop Analogical Thinking

   Practice drawing connections between seemingly unrelated fields. For example, I recently used the concept of 'action potential' from our nervous system to explain to my grandfather why he shouldn’t stress over a small increase in his phone bill. This kind of thinking fosters innovation and creative problem-solving.

2. Balance Breadth with Depth

   Aim to develop deep expertise in one core area while acquiring a broad range of skills in others. The “T-shaped model” is useful here—having a breadth of skills with deep expertise in one area. In the modern era, consider building multiple depth points to form an M-shape or even more spokes.

3. Seek Diverse Experiences & Cross-Training

   Pursue different roles, projects, and interests. Engage in job rotations, side projects, and volunteer work to gain new perspectives and skills. Learn skills that complement your main expertise. For instance, if you’re in marketing, try coding; if you’re in finance, study design principles.

4. Expand Your Information Diet

   Improve the quality of your input to enhance your output. I often receive compliments for my unique ideas, which I attribute to my diverse ‘information diet’ of articles, podcasts, videos, and books.

P.S. If we get 100+ people clicking on the poll, I will release my personal information diet, including all the resources and articles I read (never shared this before!). SO GET ON IT!