Specialization Is For Insects

I find the jack-of-all-trades vs specialist debate to be an interesting one because it is a question that I have completely switched my view on over the years.

Josh Kaufman, creator of the outsanding Personal MBA blog, had a great post recently arguing for the importance of humans to possess certain core skills, abilities necessary for living life well regardless of occupation. He cited a interesting quote by legendary science fiction author and intellectual, Robert Heinlein, rebuffing the notion that specialization is the key to success, but arguing for more of a jack-of-all-trades approach to life:

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, and die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

I find the jack-of-all-trades vs specialist debate to be an interesting one because it is a question that I have completely switched my view on over the years. When I was a teenager and even during the first few years of college I believed ardently that the surest path to victory was to find a small niche, talent or interest and focus all your energy and time on it until you completely dominated the area.

For a while I wanted to be a doctor of some sort, but I soon realized that to be just a general physician was looked down upon by many. “Specialists, those are the ones that really make the big bucks,” I would hear my parents’s friends say. Why be just a doctor when you could be an ear, nose and throat guy. Maybe just an ear guy….inner ear? The point was taken, if you wanted to be somebody you should specialize — less competition and more opportunity to make a name and some good money.

My view changed quite suddenly in a management class called management perspectives during my junior year at the Academy. After some good debates I began to find that while a specialist may have a better chance of being the best in his small, profitable niche market, he lacked the tools necessary to stray outside the safe confines of his area and solve complex problems. Sure, the ear doctor can hit a homerun when a person comes with a simple blown eardrum, but when the patient’s medical problems are part of a larger malady he is ill-equipped to stray from the ear.

It is reminiscent of the old proverb, “If all you have is a hammer, every problem begins to look like a nail.”

What makes a good manager, doctor, or interesting person in general, is one who, possessing great intellectual curiousity, is knowledgable in many areas and is able to mesh them all together in new, innovative ways to solve complex problems. Put another way, they have multiple tools in their belt to solve problems.

This isn’t to say that all specialization is bad, but that specialists can gain a huge advantage over their peers if they branch out their interests a bit and learn to make new connections between their field and others. Ben Casnocha emphasizes a similar theme noting the importance of side-projects.

With this in mind, here are the core human skills Kaufmann says every person should possess to navigate succesfully through life:

Information-Assimilation – how to find, consume, and comprehend information and identify what’s most important in the face of a problem or challenge. A person who is highly skilled in Information-Assimilation is able to process information quickly and apply it to the situation at hand, with consistently high levels of comprehension and retention.

Writing – how to communicate thoughts and ideas in written form clearly and concisely. A person who is highly skilled in Writing is able to convey information to others briefly and simply, as well as use writing to persuade and influence.

Speaking – how to communicate thoughts and ideas to others clearly, concisely, and with confidence. A person who is highly skilled in Speaking is able to communicate individually or in front of a group of people in an engaging manner, with little visible evidence of tension or stress.

Mathematics – how to accurately use concepts from arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, and statistics to analyze and solve common problems. A person who is highly skilled in Mathematics is able to use numbers, ratios, and equations to gain insight into present circumstances and potential future scenarios.

Decision-Making – how to identify critical issues, prioritize, focus energy/effort, recognize fallacies, avoid common errors, and handle ambiguity. A person who is highly skilled in Decision-Making is able to weigh available information and come to a supportable conclusion, without falling prey to common reasoning mistakes and cognitive bias.

Rapport – how to interact with other people in a way that encourages them to like, trust, and respect you. A person who is highly skilled in Rapport is able to build productive, mutually-beneficial relationships with a wide variety of people in a way that influences their perceptions and opinions.

Conflict-Resolution – how to anticipate potential sources of conflict and resolve disagreements when they occur. A person who is highly skilled in Conflict-Resolution is able to anticipate potential sources of conflict and counteract unproductive emotions, both individually and in groups.

Scenario-Generation – how to create, clarify, evaluate, and communicate a possible future scenario that assists in decision-making, either for yourself or another person. A person who is highly skilled in Scenario Generation is able to envision possible future events, identify likely tradeoffs, and suggest multiple options that will result in the achievement of an objective.

Planning – how to identify the necessary next steps to achieve an objective, account for dependencies, and prepare for the unknown and inevitable change via the use of contingencies. A person who is highly skilled in Planning is able to examine available resources, anticipate potential issues and risks, and propose new / better paths as more information becomes known.

Self-Awareness – how to accurately perceive and influence your own internal states and emotions, including effective management of limited energy, willpower, and focus. A person who is highly skilled in Self-Awareness is able to recognize what physical and emotional state they’re currently experiencing, utilize or compensate for their current state, and intentionally elicit / reinforce preferred states.

Interrelation – how to recognize, understand, and make use of key features of systems and relationships, including cause-and-effect, second and third-order effects, constraints, and feedback loops. A person who is highly skilled in Interrelation is able to identify the most important factors in a system, explore how they affect each other, and improve systems without provoking undesired consequences.

Skill Acquisition – how to go about learning a desired skill in a way that results in competence by finding and utilizing available resources, deconstructing complex processes, and actively experimenting with potential approaches. A person who is highly skilled in Skill Acquisition is able to continually improve their skills in any field through deliberate practice, observation, and intentional experimentation.