The generalist is currently between jobs.
She had an entry-level role in a marketing agency, but didn’t last long. Wasn’t learning enough.
She’s also been working on the manuscript of a novel for a while, but it’s slow going. She can’t decide which direction to take the story — so many possibilities, but only one can come to fruition.
Don’t let this creative block fool you: the generalist is very, very smart.
She sees the world more clearly than most of us could ever dream of…
But nobody will take her seriously. She’s young (for now) and inexperienced, with next to no track record.
Any time she tries to burrow down into a specific discipline, she gets distracted. After all, time is finite — to improve in one area, she has to sacrifice another.
And for the generalist, this isn’t a trade worth making.
The specialist is the pride of his family.
Nobody around him had ever even graduated high school, and yet here he is: the highest-performing lens technician in the marketing agency’s TV infomercial department.
He discovered his love of cinematography in high school, and never looked back.
Before long, he fell in love with the physics of light. Narrowing his interests to lenses was only natural.
The specialist’s managers often tell him he needs to improve his leadership skills, but they don’t understand. If only they worked as hard as him, these ‘high-ranking’ executives might learn a thing or two about the real world.
Besides, he’s got a safe job, and steady pay. His skills might be narrow, but they go deep, and they’ll always be in demand.
The market for lens technicians is shrinking, sure, but he’s got a good gig. Infomercials aren’t going anywhere, and even if things get tight, his bosses will keep him on payroll as repayment for his loyalty.
Right?