Don’t Let The Masses Fool You – A Jack Of All Trades Can Master Plenty

Posted: January 16th, 2012 | Author: Gideon Walker | Filed under: Productivity | 10 Comments »
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I was that kid (And still am) that dabbled in a lot of different interests.

I started drawing at a young age (around 6) and that kind of dropped off after high school.

Not sure why but I attest it to how everyone else I knew that was an artist was just soooo much better at it than I was, that I got discouraged since I couldn’t seem to improve.

That was my fault though, I never really tried to get better.  Not only that but I was constantly getting distracted by other things.  Women were a big part of that ::ahem::

Anyways! The list of interesting subjects would always take away from what I was currently into like:

• Drawing
• Building Computers
• Import racing (Drifting specifically, even though I never did it)
• Fixing cars (I was a mechanic for Mercedes for a bit)
• DJing (Is that a word? Got paid $100/hr for an after hours VIP club W00T!)
• Audio production (The next obvious step to DJing right?)
• HTML & CSS (It’s a back forth battle)
• Ruby Programming
• Photography
• Videography (With DSLR’s)
• And now Copywriting (Plus writing for this awesome blog)

I always felt like the common “Jack-of-all-Trades, Master-of-None” kid who couldn’t focus enough to be set with just one thing.

I don’t know, everyone else around me seemed to be doing great things with their one thing they’re spending all their time on mastering.

I just couldn’t do it — I realize now that I didn’t want to do it — it’s boring.

And being a Jack of all Trades isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Tim Ferriss wrote an intriguing post on the Top 5 Reasons To Be a Jack of All Trades.

5) “Jack of all trades, master of none” is an artificial pairing.

It is entirely possible to be a jack of all trades, master of many. How? Specialists overestimate the time needed to “master” a skill and confuse “master” with “perfect”…

Generalists recognize that the 80/20 principle applies to skills: 20% of a language’s vocabulary will enable you to communicate and understand at least 80%, 20% of a dance like tango (lead and footwork) separates the novice from the pro, 20% of the moves in a sport account for 80% of the scoring, etc. Is this settling for mediocre?

Not at all. Generalists take the condensed study up to, but not beyond, the point of rapidly diminishing returns. There is perhaps a 5% comprehension difference between the focused generalist who studies Japanese systematically for 2 years vs. the specialist who studies Japanese for 10 with the lack of urgency typical of those who claim that something “takes a lifetime to learn.” Hogwash. Based on my experience and research, it is possible to become world-class in almost any skill within one year.

4) In a world of dogmatic specialists, it’s the generalist who ends up running the show.

Is the CEO a better accountant than the CPA? Is Steve Jobs a better programmer than the iTunes VP of Engineering? No, but he has a broad range of skills and sees the unseen interconnectedness. As technology becomes a commodity with the democratization of information, it’s the big-picture generalists who will predict, innovate, and rise to power fastest. There is a reason military “generals” are called such.

3) Boredom is failure.

In a first-world economy where we have the physical necessities covered with even low-class income, Mazlow’s hierarchy of needs drives us to need more for any measure of comparative “success.” Lack of intellectual stimulation, not superlative material wealth, is what drives us to depression and emotional bankruptcy. Generalizing and experimenting prevents this, while over-specialization guarantees it.

2) Diversity of intellectual playgrounds breeds confidence instead of fear of the unknown.

It also breeds empathy with the broadest range of human conditions and appreciation of the broadest range of human accomplishments. The alternative is the defensive xenophobia and smugness uniquely common to those whose identities are defined by their job title or single skill, which they pursue out of obligation and not enjoyment.

1) It’s more fun, in the most serious existential sense.

The jack of all trades maximizes his number of peak experiences in life and learns to enjoy the pursuit of excellence unrelated to material gain, all while finding the few things he is truly uniquely suited to dominate.

The specialist who imprisons himself in self-inflicted one-dimensionality — pursuing and impossible perfection — spends decades stagnant or making imperceptible incremental improvements while the curious generalist consistently measures improvement in quantum leaps. It is only the latter who enjoys the process of pursuing excellence.

 

His number 1 reason which resonated with me was especially encouraging, to enjoy the fact that I had acquired and learned some of the skills I have for a meaningful experience.

If it wasn’t for trying out new things, I wouldn’t have taken Neville’s course on Kopywriting, I wouldn’t have replied to a Tweet from App Sumo that they’re hiring, and I would’ve never found myself here, writing on this blog, for you.

I may not be a “Grand Master” of my skills, but I sure as hell can perform some of the skills if called upon.  (Like stand in for a well known Las Vegas DJ when he had an emergency)

And I’ve enjoyed learning new things.  I like to know the answer to questions people have, to be able to teach others what they didn’t know before, and to look like a Super Dad to my kids when they get to that age of always asking “But why Daddy?”

Being a Jack of All Trades May Be Worth Your Time

Leonardo DaVinci lives on in all of us, if only we accept change.

Josh Kaufman of The Personal MBA wrote,

Specialization only works if things don’t change – and things always change. The more you focus on developing any single skill, the less time you have to develop other skills that can help you in the event things in your environment change unfavorably.

A person who only knows how to do one thing exceptionally well is on solid ground for as long as that skill is in high demand, but if the environment changes to make that skill unnecessary or undesirable, they’ll have more trouble adjusting to the new situation. The very best high-rise architect in the world is screwed if no one wants to build skyscrapers anymore.

A personal experience of mine that I can share happened during New Years Eve of 2012.

I went out with some friends to a Hawaiian bar and restaurant in Las Vegas, Lahaina Grill, where the band HaleAmanO was playing.

Being the type of guy who loves to take photos, I started shooting the event.

No one was excluded. Friends, bartenders, staff, drunk dancers bobbing their heads to the sounds of chill reggae and local Hawaiian beats.

I took the opportunity to find the owners of Lahaina Grill and told them I’d love to share the photos, no charge.  They offered me a freelance gig to shoot photos for their events.

The point being, yes, I could just ONLY do copywriting or write for this blog. (Which pays rather well)

But I could also offer some off beat talent to the mix that some of the other team members might not be experienced with and vice versa.

It’s being versatile and having the willingness to learn something new.

Josh Kaufman goes on to talk about versatility with the “T-Shaped Person“:

T-Shaped People Perform Best

In order to maximize your performance and flexibility, it’s useful to adopt two complementary strategies: (1) work on developing deep expertise in your primary field to increase your value, and (2) learn about as many different things has possible to increase your flexibility. Tim Brown, founder of IDEO, calls this “Becoming a T-shaped person“:

“We look for people who are so inquisitive about the world that they’re willing to try to do what you do. We call them “T-shaped people.” They have a principal skill that describes the vertical leg of the T — they’re mechanical engineers or industrial designers. But they are so empathetic that they can branch out into other skills, such as anthropology, and do them as well. They are able to explore insights from many different perspectives and recognize patterns of behavior that point to a universal human need. That’s what you’re after at this point — patterns that yield ideas.”

Here’s 1 Tip To Being A Jack of All Trades

Don’t overwhelm yourself with a multitude of activities all at once like you’re writing your bucket list. (Unless you really are writing your bucket list and that time is coming soon…stop reading this and get out there and do your list!)

Scott H. Young notes that he only takes on 2 or 3 activities at a time to avoid the demotivational feeling of being overwhelmed and having too much on your plate.

And that…

By taking on varied interests serially, you can give the retrospective sense of an incredibly varied life, while retaining focus each step of the way.

So how have you felt like you were a Jack of All Trades, Master of None, but managed to take advantage of this ill-conceived concept that you should ALWAYS specialize in something?

Share your experiences below in the comments and let others know by tweeting this post : )

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