The Power of the Generalist

Last week, I wrote about expertise and how to create your own master’s program. Expertise is a good thing.

“Specialize or die.”

“Become an expert in something.”

“The jack of all trades is the master of none.”

We hear these all the time.

And yes, I agree that specialization is important. You must specialize if you want a successful career. Companies pay more for experts.

However, there is another side of this coin which doesn’t get as much love. In fact, it is often scoffed at. But when you do this, you unlock new powers.

You need to generalize.

Generalists have advantages that specialists don’t.

Step 1 is to earn some expertise. Then move to step 2: Learn across domains to become more resilient, relatable, and creative.

Let’s learn why this works and how to generalize for improved performance.

Generalists are Resilient

Imagine a light fixture breaks or a toilet is leaking. If you have knowledge about the problem, you can take a shot at fixing it. If you don’t have the skills this can lead to stress.

Remember that stress is due to a perceived lack of skills or resources to handle a challenge.

More knowledge = More skills = less stress.

Also, being a generalist helps you with problem solving. When you understand a variety of topics you can connect seemingly unrelated topics to solve challenges.

Let me give you an example:

When I was a teenager, I was working with a fencing crew to install razor wire around a storage facility. That stuff is nasty. I once watched a barb pierce a guy right through his eyebrow. You don’t mess with that stuff.

Because it is dangerous, it takes forever to install.

However, my foreman had an idea that was inspired by power workers laying out long strands of cable: they use a dispenser (the wire is on a coil, and it simply unrolls as needed). So, we fashioned a pipe to serve as a coil. The razor wire could rest on it and unfurl as needed. We cut our predicted finish time by 75%.

Having knowledge about a different topic impacted how we adapted to that challenge.

Learning a variety of basic skills can prepare you for a lot of random crap.

Flat tire? No problem.

Leaky pipe? Fixed it.

Employee communication problems? Yup… generalizing can help here too.

Generalists are Relatable

I have worked across a variety of industries. Many people I worked with were experts in their field (exercise scientists, doctors, engineers, marketers).

But, the most effective people I have ever worked with expanded their knowledge in 1 specific area: Psychology.

When you study psychology, you inevitable run into topics like emotion, motivation, conflict, and communication. These skills help everyone, no matter what field you are in.

If you learn about communications, you are better able to relate with those around you.

You can navigate conversations with more ease and skill.

There is another benefit to learning a lot about a little: conversations topics.

Have you ever met a new person and then have nothing to talk about because you have nothing in common?

When you learn about a lot of things, you open doors for conversations you never thought having.

Another example:

During my years as a personal trainer I worked with a lot of artists (oil painters to be specific). I loved learning from them. I also consumed every YouTube art documentary I could find.

After 6 months of this, I could carry on a solid conversation about impressionist and post-impressionist artists with the best of them.

Fast forward a few months and I found myself at a house party near an art school… full of artists.

And guess what we talked about? Yeah… painting.

The fitness expert (me) was talking about art history and the impact of art on the modern world with a bunch of art students. It was fantastic.

Generalizing opens doors to conversations and relationships.

But there is one more thing that breadth gives you: creativity.

Generalists are Creative

Where do ideas come from?

From your subconscious.

How can your subconscious create an idea?

By connecting dots between all you know as it relates to your challenge.

If you want to be more creative, you must fill your subconscious with content to draw upon.

If you are an engineer, read about design.

If you are a doctor, read about communications.

If you are a leader, read fiction and history.

Learning for breadth gives you the power of analogy.

If you are a leader and you are struggling to motivate your team, you can dig into your memory bank.

“This challenge is a lot like when Caesar was dealing with a discontent group of soldiers. Also, Napoleon used to form camaraderie with his soldiers by walking through camp and talking with them.”

Armed with this historical knowledge, you might take a similar action to what these men of history did.

If you only know about one area of knowledge, all your creativity is stuck within that realm. You cannot draw inspiration from any other area.

So, what exactly should you learn?

Reading is the simplest way to install new knowledge software into your brain. Before I suggest some reading materials, recognize that reading only one book about a topic will put you at risk of falling victim to the Dunning-Kruger effect.

When you read about a topic, read about two different points of view.

Here are some good topics to consider:

Economics:

Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell and Capital by Thomas Piketty

Decision making:

Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman and Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

The Universe:

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking and A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence Krauss

Psychology:

Science and Human Behavior by B.F. Skinner and Influence by Robert Cialdini

History and Biographies:

Anything by Walter Isaacson and anything by David McCullough

Read a variety of things and keep going. Over time, your breadth of knowledge will expand.

What next?

Expertise is obviously valuable. I recommend starting with expertise. Read and apply as much as possible about one topic.

Then expand your awareness by reading about different and random topics.

To dig deeper into the topic of being a generalist, I highly recommend you check out the book Range, by David Epstein.

Keep learning, my friends.

And crush it

Clark