Comments on: Take the risk of specializing in order to stand out http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/29/take-the-risk-and-specialize-in-order-to-stand-out/ Advice at the intersection of work and life Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:19:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Benefit from blogging without spending tons of time » Brazen Careerist http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/29/take-the-risk-and-specialize-in-order-to-stand-out/#comment-22769 Benefit from blogging without spending tons of time » Brazen Careerist Sat, 03 Feb 2007 02:21:43 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/29/take-the-risk-and-specialize-in-order-to-stand-out/#comment-22769 [...] 1. You will force yourself to specialize. You can’t really write a blog about everything. Well, you can, but it will suck. So you’ll need to pick a topic and stick with it. And just the act of doing that is good for you because specializing is good for your career. After all, you can’t be known for something if you are not specializing in something. And once you are known for something you have a lot more leverage to get the kind of work you want to be doing. [...] […] 1. You will force yourself to specialize. You can’t really write a blog about everything. Well, you can, but it will suck. So you’ll need to pick a topic and stick with it. And just the act of doing that is good for you because specializing is good for your career. After all, you can’t be known for something if you are not specializing in something. And once you are known for something you have a lot more leverage to get the kind of work you want to be doing. […]

]]> By: Be nimble and creative to grow a career in “the conceptual age” » Brazen Careerist http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/29/take-the-risk-and-specialize-in-order-to-stand-out/#comment-12676 Be nimble and creative to grow a career in “the conceptual age” » Brazen Careerist Tue, 02 Jan 2007 06:39:38 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/29/take-the-risk-and-specialize-in-order-to-stand-out/#comment-12676 [...] Those with no patience for methodically developing a special talent, pay heed: Innovation without a good knowledge in that area is not creativity but dilettantism. Not that dabbling in topics you know nothing about isn’t fun, but that lifestyle will not create the kind of value that allows you to flourish in this new economy. To find what you love to do, Csikszentmihalyi recommends exploration. [...] […] Those with no patience for methodically developing a special talent, pay heed: Innovation without a good knowledge in that area is not creativity but dilettantism. Not that dabbling in topics you know nothing about isn’t fun, but that lifestyle will not create the kind of value that allows you to flourish in this new economy. To find what you love to do, Csikszentmihalyi recommends exploration. […]

]]> By: Luigi Martin http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/29/take-the-risk-and-specialize-in-order-to-stand-out/#comment-7241 Luigi Martin Tue, 19 Dec 2006 07:51:33 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/29/take-the-risk-and-specialize-in-order-to-stand-out/#comment-7241 I've always been a generalist, good at lots of things, but able to specialise when needed. I must say I've never liked specialising. I like to think of it like being a dinosaur (or some other animal) that specialised so much, that when its environment, food, weather etc became scarce, or changed, they couldn't change and adapt, and then became extinct. Specialising can pay very well and make you very successful, but when the "hoola hoop" craze fades, you need to be able to respecialise, or go back to your generalist roots. I guess its just horses for courses. I’ve always been a generalist, good at lots of things, but able to specialise when needed.

I must say I’ve never liked specialising.

I like to think of it like being a dinosaur (or some other animal) that specialised so much, that when its environment, food, weather etc became scarce, or changed, they couldn’t change and adapt, and then became extinct.

Specialising can pay very well and make you very successful, but when the “hoola hoop” craze fades, you need to be able to respecialise, or go back to your generalist roots.

I guess its just horses for courses.

]]> By: Chris Yeh http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/29/take-the-risk-and-specialize-in-order-to-stand-out/#comment-3959 Chris Yeh Wed, 29 Nov 2006 21:30:09 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/29/take-the-risk-and-specialize-in-order-to-stand-out/#comment-3959 Also, you can have more than one specialty, as long as they target different audiences. The key is to focus your message and avoid confusing potential employers and collaborators. When Dave goes to writer's conferences, he might pitch himself as the #1 true crime guy for Milwaukee, not the guy who really knows networking. And because the two audiences rarely overlap, there would be no confusion. But when you target the same audience with different messages, confusion sets in. I have enterprise experiences, as well as consumer Internet experience. That's a tougher sell to VCs than someone who's always done one or the other. Also, you can have more than one specialty, as long as they target different audiences. The key is to focus your message and avoid confusing potential employers and collaborators.

When Dave goes to writer’s conferences, he might pitch himself as the #1 true crime guy for Milwaukee, not the guy who really knows networking.

And because the two audiences rarely overlap, there would be no confusion.

But when you target the same audience with different messages, confusion sets in. I have enterprise experiences, as well as consumer Internet experience. That’s a tougher sell to VCs than someone who’s always done one or the other.

]]> By: Jeremy http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/29/take-the-risk-and-specialize-in-order-to-stand-out/#comment-3946 Jeremy Wed, 29 Nov 2006 17:23:19 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/29/take-the-risk-and-specialize-in-order-to-stand-out/#comment-3946 Agreed with this approach. One caveat, though...mobility is a big help for specialists. Ideally, of course, your specialty is so special that you can work from home (or the ski hill, this time of year), but the reality is that when an organization is paying you big bucks for your special skills, they probably want lots of face time. Which means you have to be prepared to move if the demand for your specialty doesn't happen to be where you live (or your ski resort). Agreed with this approach. One caveat, though…mobility is a big help for specialists. Ideally, of course, your specialty is so special that you can work from home (or the ski hill, this time of year), but the reality is that when an organization is paying you big bucks for your special skills, they probably want lots of face time. Which means you have to be prepared to move if the demand for your specialty doesn’t happen to be where you live (or your ski resort).

]]> By: Penelope Trunk http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/29/take-the-risk-and-specialize-in-order-to-stand-out/#comment-3944 Penelope Trunk Wed, 29 Nov 2006 15:39:19 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/29/take-the-risk-and-specialize-in-order-to-stand-out/#comment-3944 Dave, you give a great little case study of the pluses and minuses of specializing. Thanks. Penelope Dave, you give a great little case study of the pluses and minuses of specializing. Thanks.

Penelope

]]> By: Dave http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/29/take-the-risk-and-specialize-in-order-to-stand-out/#comment-3943 Dave Wed, 29 Nov 2006 15:24:20 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/29/take-the-risk-and-specialize-in-order-to-stand-out/#comment-3943 It is definitely true you need to "go deep" in something in order to be taken seriously. I am a total technology generalist in so many ways...but when I do take something on, I pursue it relentlessly to a level of detail that makes me an expert quickly. So, when I say generalist, it doesn't mean "I am familiar with many networking technologies..."; it means stuff like, "yeah, our router was having problems, so I had to go figure out how to build one." Or "the web site was giving an error message and the programmer was not around, so I had to learn java enough to debug his code and find the problem." It makes me a very valuable person for a company, but I am harder to market because you don't need very many people like me; i.e. my role is not fungible. Headhunters don't know what to do with me. Then, if I tell them I'm also a writer and admitted to practice law...forget it. It is definitely true you need to “go deep” in something in order to be taken seriously. I am a total technology generalist in so many ways…but when I do take something on, I pursue it relentlessly to a level of detail that makes me an expert quickly. So, when I say generalist, it doesn’t mean “I am familiar with many networking technologies…”; it means stuff like, “yeah, our router was having problems, so I had to go figure out how to build one.” Or “the web site was giving an error message and the programmer was not around, so I had to learn java enough to debug his code and find the problem.” It makes me a very valuable person for a company, but I am harder to market because you don’t need very many people like me; i.e. my role is not fungible. Headhunters don’t know what to do with me. Then, if I tell them I’m also a writer and admitted to practice law…forget it.

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