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"If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity." ~ John F Kennedy
“Why do you get pissed off when we call you; the contracts guy, engineer, numbers dude ect?” ~ Some wanker simplifying people
Two years into a startup from a $250 grocery bill, to six figures before having a website and doing our entire first years revenue in January of our second year. I can honestly say the greatest value came from expert generalists rather than title holders or pigeon hole experts!
What is an Expert Generalist (EG)?
Personally my view is (disclaimer: open to change tomorrow or any other instance of iteration); An EG is someone that has the cognitive and behavioral capability to find, consume and practically apply knowledge from many fields to solve problems and create value.
Where did Expert Generalists (EG’s) come from?
We can understand EG’s by understanding the difference between our parents world of limited roles, opportunities and delivery mechanisms for education — compared to the current state of border less technology driven learning and instantaneous action.
Border less technology driven learning and the availability of knowledge has overtaken formal learning institutions and titles.
You don’t have to wait till Monday, second semester, or until you’ve racked up enough grade points for graduation to access skills or knowledge. A 15 year old could plunder through YouTube, tedX, Peer Reviewed Academic papers, Coursera or EdX and humbly hold their own with an MBA graduate or researcher and have a meaningful exchange.
Yet for some reason we as a society still reverse rationalize human potential into a “job description”, “title”, “degree” or “time period”.
Instantaneous action enabled via the internet, also allows that same 15 year old to stay up all night coding his/her own site, setup a google adwords campaign, write and learn copy writing, work with industrial designers, deliver product, bounce ideas in forums and iterate.
Yet for some reason those leanings, failures and successes and the practical application of thought will be boiled down by society to a statement resembling;
“You’re a [Insert Over Simplified Title] right!”
Where can we find EG’s?
While my ego want’s to say;
“They are really rare and only a few exist worldwide, so shower us with accolades” ~ This Wanker
The truth is most people are EG’s we’ve just unfortunately forgot that;
1. We don’t need to be told what to learn.
2. We can seek and learn any time of day and any day of the year.
3. We don’t need to wait for permission to innovate or apply what we learn.
From the Expert Generalists to those requiring a binary well labelled world;
1. We understand investors need to simplify the tick boxes down to tech guy, management, marketing and ape walking on hind appendages to ensure the current definition for a returns making machine.
2. It’s scary to think the world isn’t a binary set of ones and zeros, labels and pigeon holes, yet instead it’s a exponentially expanding mess of outcomes and possibilities.
3. And Three….. is your chair really a chair or is it a heap of material you’re using as a chair because you haven’t figured out anything better!
PS — please feel free to discard the label “Expert Generalist” at some point in the future and just make cool shit!