Why we need MORE Generalists
The world is full of people of all kinds, from the eager young adult trying to find their way, to the old person who did it all.
No matter where you are in life there are often people who would try to describe you. Oh you're eccentric or talk a lot, well maybe that is just me projecting! However it is true that the people you are surrounded by, even if they are strangers, they all make some sort of opinion about you.
Given our global society runs on the skills and lives of people doing their jobs all over the globe. Then our roles at our jobs and occupations become a huge part of our lives. Yet over the past 100 years there has been a clear distinction between what is the "ideal" job, and the people who "aren't going to be successful".
I mean look at early Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, as both of them found themselves dropping out of school in order to pursue what they were most passionate about. The society thought they would be dilettantes, and useless to the larger group. Yet look where Bill Gates is now, and the late Jobs was. Top of their fields, and running some of the largest corporations on the planet. They were generalists, NOT specialists, and by understanding that distinction perhaps you and I can become more like them.
Generalists are far more common than you might even realize!
There is a theory that it is BECAUSE OF GENERALISTS, that humanity was able to survive. Let alone THRIVE in new environments over the course of
history and evolution.
It is all Centered around the ONE thing
What is that one thing that is going to set you apart? What specialty are you going into? A lot of immigrant families always go for the doctor or engineer roles, as they "pay the best". However we are seeing more and more that isn't the truth. Sure being a doctor pays a lot, but after taxes and all of that it starts to even out (look at California's tax rate on $100,000 a year for example).
Whereas you see the entrepreneurs out there, whom most may not ever be successful, but the ones that do make it become the richest people in their circles.
They are the people who have to wear many hats just to get their business off the ground, and the ones that hold out for the days that their online book store will turn into Amazon. They may not even know exactly what the next phase will look like for them, but they have faith in their ideas. They know that by doing so much at once, that it will get them the opportunity they need.
They are the modern day generalists.
Or even another example is the Project Manager coordinating a team of programmers, exec's, and marketing teams all together. Knowing a bit of each domain to have the ability to properly communicate with each team.
Another example is the T-shaped marketer, the digital marketing GENERALIST. The person who knows social media, SEO, PPC, ads, and more.
Perhaps it is the very much sought after "unicorn employee", that can do it all. Ironically there is such a bad habit of recruiters writing the job listing, asking for "specialists", when they need to pivot and market to the "generalists".
How does the world see Generalists however?
Given our specialist society is only about 100 years old, it runs deep for something so young on the macro scale. It has been proven that generalists have been around for the entirety of human evolution.
With the online world people who are multidisciplinary can finally thrive, and learn whatever they want. Without the stigma of having a lack of formal education on a subject. There are many ways to prove one's knowledge via mediums of content or pitching. We are still in the point of society thinking that every generalist or polymath is that of a jack of all trades sort of novice level. When in reality a polymath is a multi-specialist, with just as much deep level of knowledge as the average specialist in that field, but with 3 or more fields under their belt.
Given the divergent pool of knowledge a generalist will have to pull from, they are far more likely to find the solution various companies are searching for to improve.
So while the world still may see the generalist world in a negative way, the rise of the generalist is nigh.
What do Generalists Offer?
Diverse opinions, adaptable to changes, entrepreneurial spirit, cross-disciplinary training, interdepartmental unification, and much more.
We are reaching ever closer to this "digital renaissance", and it is key for our species to be able to adapt once more.
Instead of a physical environmental ecological niche, it is instead a digital frontier. Being able to adapt to the new wave of technologies, and more importantly understand them deeply. While being to jump to the next new thing at the same time as well!
If you want to keep reading:
Previous Shorter Version:
This was one of my "social articles", an experiment to create medium sized blog posts, akin to newsletters. Across a variety of social blogging networking platforms. Such as Medium, and Linkedin. Since it didn't quite land; I decided to take these posts and remake them into more full length creations.