This was great for me to read, Robert! I find myself always interested many things and hard to focus on individual things for years and years. I find too many new things that take all my attention, then eventually moving to something else. I know I need to focus longer than I do to actually gain a substantial skill in it, but it’s good to have encouragement that working on many things, isn’t always bad!
A nice read, although I do have reservations about Donald Trump and his skill sets. Much of what he displays to the world, behaviour wise,is a facade. In my humble opinion.
Well said Rob! This is especially relevant in the age of AI when generalists can tap into expert knowledge so much easier than in the past. We’ve just got to know enough to be dangerous ;)
Rob, what a great text on very relevant stuff! I believe that there are a lot of people (myself included) who are just too curious to be specialists and repress their other interests. Personally, I was always interested in many subjects and found it a thrilling alchemy to combine them. And the 3 pillars of business are definitely something everyone will find beneficial to excel at. Greetings from Vilnius.
My take on this (and the theme of my newsletter 🙂) is that we are all generalists in some way, shape or form. It’s what we do with that curiosity that propels us to the next levels…from simply curious and interested, to generalist, multi passionate/multipotentialite, polymath.
There are some that take their learning to higher levels, satisfying their curiosity and being able to teach a class on the subject - the Polymaths. Many famous historical figures are today regarded as Polymaths - da Vinci, Plato, Nietzsche, Aristotle…they excelled and made contributions in many different fields.
As you say, there is a place for the specialist in today’s world, and we need them. But if you look at them closely they will also exhibit generalist/polymathic tendencies.
Hence the full quote: "Jack of all trades master of none, though oftentimes better than master of one.”
Ironically, acquiring a unique set of generalist skills can, combined, make you a one-of-a-kind specialist.
This statement resonates, especially in today's economy. You need to know a lot about stuff and still be a specialist lol.
This was great for me to read, Robert! I find myself always interested many things and hard to focus on individual things for years and years. I find too many new things that take all my attention, then eventually moving to something else. I know I need to focus longer than I do to actually gain a substantial skill in it, but it’s good to have encouragement that working on many things, isn’t always bad!
A nice read, although I do have reservations about Donald Trump and his skill sets. Much of what he displays to the world, behaviour wise,is a facade. In my humble opinion.
Loved your post! Have you read the book Range? It makes a strong case for generalists and all but stops short of endorsing the liberal arts.
https://a.co/d/8PbsFJJ
Well said Rob! This is especially relevant in the age of AI when generalists can tap into expert knowledge so much easier than in the past. We’ve just got to know enough to be dangerous ;)
Rob, what a great text on very relevant stuff! I believe that there are a lot of people (myself included) who are just too curious to be specialists and repress their other interests. Personally, I was always interested in many subjects and found it a thrilling alchemy to combine them. And the 3 pillars of business are definitely something everyone will find beneficial to excel at. Greetings from Vilnius.
This article resonates with me. I enjoyed reading this, Robert.
Nice read, Rob, and a subject close to my heart.
My take on this (and the theme of my newsletter 🙂) is that we are all generalists in some way, shape or form. It’s what we do with that curiosity that propels us to the next levels…from simply curious and interested, to generalist, multi passionate/multipotentialite, polymath.
There are some that take their learning to higher levels, satisfying their curiosity and being able to teach a class on the subject - the Polymaths. Many famous historical figures are today regarded as Polymaths - da Vinci, Plato, Nietzsche, Aristotle…they excelled and made contributions in many different fields.
As you say, there is a place for the specialist in today’s world, and we need them. But if you look at them closely they will also exhibit generalist/polymathic tendencies.