A Jack of All Trades, a Master at None. You Won’t Succeed.
That’s not always the case, and this is why.
Most people often see a “Jack of All Trades” as individuals who lack focus and can only do a little of everything, with generalized skills and no expertise. A Jack of All Trades is a title used as a complement to a handyperson that can provide a “one-stop-shop” service.
A specialist has the authority to speak about specific topics with credibility and have a higher chance of success than a generalist when we look into smaller niches.
Still, sometimes, the advice of a specialist is incomplete to the bigger picture. This is when the generalist has a chance for success. I will give you some examples of what I mean.
I trained in martial arts for many years, and after throwing thousands of repetitive punches, my elbow joint swelled up and got sore. The doctor diagnosed me with “tennis elbow,” prescribing me an anti-inflammatory. He also recommended that I strap it up to reduce the straining until it healed itself.
After a few months, my elbow had healed, so I continued into my training. Another year passed of more repetitive punches, and the pain returned. This time I sought advice from a physio who also suspected I had a tennis elbow.
He recommended that I see a doctor for treatment and showed me some exercises and stretches that would gradually strengthen my joint to prevent this problem from re-occurring. I didn’t need to see the doctor again, as I had remembered his advice the first time I visited, and I didn’t intend to go back and forth for the same issue.
This time, I heed the initial advice the doctor had given me and also implemented the small movement training that the physio had shown me.
After my elbow healed up, I continued to do the strengthening exercises and stretches for a little longer before getting back into my usual full pace. Eventually, I resumed my regular training, and after another ten years, I no longer get a tennis elbow.
This was the first time I realized the limitations of a specialist. The doctor could only give me a short-term treatment for my problem. The physio didn’t have the accreditation to treat me, but he gave me a long-term solution.
Then I wondered, what if the doctor had learned those exercises and stretched the same way I learned it from the physiotherapist? You wouldn’t need to send the patient back and forth between the two practices and subsequently provide better service to clients.
Working in the engineering industry, all the projects I worked on required me to collaborate with various trades. At this moment in my life, I was only a student in Mechanical Engineering. I got into an internship that allowed me to be a part of the designing and R&D team for innovative hotel development and construction products.
Having previous experience in 3d and 2d CAD(computer-aided design) drafting, they stationed me to make drawings and designs that I send to the fabricators and suppliers to get made. I also made drawings to instruct the assembly and installation teams to piece the products together.
As a novice, I often got yelled at by the floor team for my drawings being impossible to manufacture and construct. It made little sense practically but conformed to the design requirements. Instead of being discouraged, I sneaked out of the office after completing the drawings and help the floor teams in fabricating, assembly, and installations, to learn their processes.
The floor team appreciated my initiative and took me in. I got taught everything from welding, mechanical fixings, assembly, electrical cabling, plasterboard wall and ceilings, electrical work, and painting.
I quickly learned how to design the products and make drawings that made it a breeze for the floor teams to follow and meet the project engineer’s requirements.
Instead of yelling at me, they soon converted to asking me how I wanted certain things done. I became the communication bridge between every department in the company.
I became the behind-the-scenes project manager involved in designing and guiding projects to completion at every stage. However, it wasn’t officially on paper.
This was the realization in my life where I saw success in becoming a Jack of All Trades.
Sidestepping into the corporate world working in IT as a systems engineer, I found that they favored me as the person who covers multiple positions over hiring a specialist for each department. I covered engineering, IT, digital marketing, content creation, websites, and everything in between.
“A bang for the buck,”
In every position offered to me, I tried to learn as many things as possible and expanded my knowledge. Some would say I was a one-stop-shop deli or a yes man, and perhaps I was at that moment.
I didn’t take any of this to heart, as I had a goal in mind, to take everything I knew, and put them together to create more value. I saw potential success as a Jack of All Trades from my experiences in different environments.
At this moment, I had spread myself too thin and decided it was time to find something I could do with all this practical knowledge. What came to my mind, you may ask? LED/LCD Video Walls, Digital Signages, Virtual Reality, Projection Mapping, Interactive Touch Kiosks, and media used with technology.
I could install the hardware, design the content to display, build the IT infrastructure, and troubleshoot any problems, be it physical or software-related.
This kind of work would require engineering, electrical, display screen installing, IT, and graphic designing/content creation. It was a combination of all the skills I have learned throughout my career, which made perfect sense for me to do. I could combine many skills to specialize in one industry.
Can a Jack of All all Trades be successful?
If the generalized skills align at the end of the funnel, then success is possible. You might even find yourself more successful than being a specialist by providing complete packaged solutions, rather than having to refer certain services to someone else.
You might not find success as a generalist when your Skillset is too broad, and you find yourself distributed into different industries. You won’t compete with specialized services if you intend to spread out into various fields instead of funneling into one.
Conclusion
In most cases, having a funneled generalized skill set can leverage you to gain more success than the specialist competition. You can provide more add-on services without having to refer work out. I agree, though, that there are some things that only a specialist can provide that a generalist can never do.
Trying to distribute your skills into too many industries will not add value and lead you to fail, attempting to compete with masters in their trade.
