Jul 15, 2019
The Case for Generalists
Have you heard someone referred to as a jack of all trades, master of none? It’s typically not meant as a compliment--it’s that they tend to know about a lot of things, but none of those things deeply. And the implication is that we often value specialization--the one who is the deep expert. That’s the person to be.
Expertise is good and can certainly pay off. But today’s guest makes a compelling argument for why generalists triumph in a specialized world. David Epstein is a New York Times bestselling author and has come out with what is for me one of the top books of this season. It’s entitled Range, and it’s a book that takes the whole 10,000 hours to develop expertise idea and blows it apart. I consider it a must-read book. You'll be glad you did.
Learn more about David at his website https://www.davidepstein.com/the-range/. Some additional resources include:
- You can watch the debate between David and Malcolm Gladwell here.
- David mentions Herminia Ibarra during our discussion. You can catch our interview with Herminia in episode 130.
Let's Stay In Touch!
I hear from listeners almost every day and I love it! How about you and I connect on LinkedIn? Go to https://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/LinkedIn and send me an invite!
Also, if you know of a group at your organization that has an upcoming large group gathering and uses outside speakers, let them know about the podcast! I'd love to work with them to help improve their ability to lead and deliver. Learn more at https://i-leadonline.com/keynotes. Thanks!
Project managers, you know the importance of organization and
transparency when it comes to collaborating on a team. This episode
is sponsored by Backlog, which is the
perfect project management software to keep your projects organized
from start to finish.
Try Backlog for your team free for 30 days using the special URL Backlog.com/projects. Check them out! Thanks!
Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!
Talent Triangle: Leadership
FLUFFING A DUCK and CELEBRATION by Kevin Macleod Licensed under a Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 License.
JACK OF ALL TRADES by BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN available on YouTube