Be a Generalist

We often hear terms like niche and specialist used in the workplace today. Many people give advice to younger folks early in their careers to find their niche and specialize. So many young people try desperately to find a niche that they can make a living in. But what happens when there is a world of specialists focused solely on their niches? Or what if you find your niche to be dissatisfying after 5 years? Does this focus on specialization cause us to have limited perspectives that are too narrow on life and business? I believe it is time that we start becoming generalists.

Most of us are taught western history at some point in our lives; specifically about the period of the Renaissance. One term that stuck with me is, “the Renaissance man”. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines the term as, “a person who has wide interests and is expert in several areas.” Most people think of figures like Leonardo da Vinci, who epitomized the definition of a Renaissance man. Da Vinci not only created art like the Mona Lisa, his inventions, pursuit of knowledge, and wisdom changed the world for the better.

So why is the Renaissance man relevant in today’s world? Well we have a rapidly changing economy that is responsive to global forces. When globalization or technology acts on our economy, it can wipeout, replace, or change whole business sectors, displacing specialists and their respective niches. What happens then? Specialists are forced to either endure, hoping that their niche will come back to life, or change, adapt, and become generalists. But what if we had a culture that touted the importance of being a generalist alongside specialists? I bet we would not only have more innovation, but would have more rewarding and enjoyable careers and even happier lives.

I consider myself a generalist. I could just specialize in one thing, but I don’t want to. How boring is that? I want to specialize in lots of things and learn as many skills as possible, becoming a well-rounded person. I want to learn skills like how to brew the perfect cup of coffee, how to make others laugh and smile, how to fix cars, how to distill my own whiskey and make the perfect Old Fashioned, how to influence and help others, how to be a better leader, how to scuba dive, how to play a new instrument, how to help clients build their businesses, how to fly fish, and any other skills that I can add to my repertoire. The more skills I have in my tool box, the more experiences I have, the more of a wide-ranging perspective I have on life, the more I can help others, and I become a better person for it.

I find that my generalist perspective helps me deal with life and all that it brings. It helps with adversity, major changes, dealing with other people that are similar or different than me, relationships, and business. Whenever I encounter a problem, I am able to use my varied experiences and skills to my benefit and look at solutions that I wouldn’t have come up with if I was an expert in only one niche or specialty.

Specialists are needed in today’s world, but so are generalists; the two go hand-in-hand and balance each other out. Some folks enjoy being in one niche and devoting their life to one thing, while others don’t; that is a good thing. There will be problems that generalists will need specialists to solve and vice versa, as there will be issues that specialists cannot solve and will need generalists.

Even those looking to specialize in one thing can gain invaluable perspective from becoming more of a generalist and diversifying their perspective. So if you are a specialist, try branching out and learning new skills that may have nothing to do with your specialty. You may be surprised to find that these skills actually help in your specialty. Or these newly acquired skills may help in other aspects of your life outside of work. If you find that you are weak in certain area, explore new skills that will help you become stronger, and further diversify your repertoire and perception on life and business. Perception is reality, so broaden and expand your perception to create a better reality for yourself and others. Spend 15 or 20 minutes every morning, just daydreaming about what you want life to look like and what new things interest you. Figure out how you can learn these new skills and experience these new interests. Then, it is time to commit to action and make it happen. Yoda said it best

, “Do. Or do not. There is no try.”