Am I a specialist? Or am I a generalist? This topic came up over a hot cup of tea, when discussing with a group of friends - all with similar backgrounds, but branched into different walks of life.
The concerns were that, someone doing an MBA becomes too general and hence any domain he goes into, he does not have the special knowledge needed to command the authority. I know I'm stretching this a little bit, but you get the gist.
vs 
On the other hand, someone who has done a specialization, becomes the master of the domain, but then lacks general skills - team management, leadership, vision, business acumen, etc - and hence might hit a roadblock sooner than later in his career.
Successful people, more often than not, have been a mix of both. Knowing when to specialize and when to generalize is an art in itself and one who masters it, grows up the chain fast. No rocket science there!
Interestingly, looking back at history, I realize that this whole concept of general management at a mass level might be very new to mankind. Please note, I said mankind, NOT womankind.
Men have never worked in a large gathering except in armies and war related activities, where a few Generals do the actual management (is that why they got the name "General"?) and everyone else is a foot soldier. Other men were peacefully minding their own business - farmer, trader, barber, tailor, blacksmith and the like. All specialists. No generals.
Women were running the show at home - managing the men and their egos and their wants and needs - managing the children and their whims - pretty much the general management scenario now. While a few were specialists in things like nursing, dancing or other fine arts, most women throughout history did not specialize in anything other than generally managing the household.
So, come the 21st century, things have taken a huge turn and more and more men are getting into general management, even though genetically (or generationally), they are not used to it. And equally, more women are trying to be specialists. All this should affect the dynamics of the entire system, right?
Seeing how things are turning out for the economy, society, culture and the environment, it might be a good time to look at the gender allocation of general management and specialization in the society. Is this reversing of the gene memory good for us? Is it being done with the awareness and caution needed for such a huge change? Is there data to support/oppose my "random thoughts"? Is it worth discussing? If yes, kindly leave your notes. Or better yet, lets catch up on this over a hot cup of tea. Let me know!
The concerns were that, someone doing an MBA becomes too general and hence any domain he goes into, he does not have the special knowledge needed to command the authority. I know I'm stretching this a little bit, but you get the gist.
vs On the other hand, someone who has done a specialization, becomes the master of the domain, but then lacks general skills - team management, leadership, vision, business acumen, etc - and hence might hit a roadblock sooner than later in his career.
Successful people, more often than not, have been a mix of both. Knowing when to specialize and when to generalize is an art in itself and one who masters it, grows up the chain fast. No rocket science there!
Interestingly, looking back at history, I realize that this whole concept of general management at a mass level might be very new to mankind. Please note, I said mankind, NOT womankind.
Men have never worked in a large gathering except in armies and war related activities, where a few Generals do the actual management (is that why they got the name "General"?) and everyone else is a foot soldier. Other men were peacefully minding their own business - farmer, trader, barber, tailor, blacksmith and the like. All specialists. No generals.
Women were running the show at home - managing the men and their egos and their wants and needs - managing the children and their whims - pretty much the general management scenario now. While a few were specialists in things like nursing, dancing or other fine arts, most women throughout history did not specialize in anything other than generally managing the household.
So, come the 21st century, things have taken a huge turn and more and more men are getting into general management, even though genetically (or generationally), they are not used to it. And equally, more women are trying to be specialists. All this should affect the dynamics of the entire system, right?
Seeing how things are turning out for the economy, society, culture and the environment, it might be a good time to look at the gender allocation of general management and specialization in the society. Is this reversing of the gene memory good for us? Is it being done with the awareness and caution needed for such a huge change? Is there data to support/oppose my "random thoughts"? Is it worth discussing? If yes, kindly leave your notes. Or better yet, lets catch up on this over a hot cup of tea. Let me know!
1 comment:
"... most women throughout history did not specialize in anything other than generally managing the household. " Surely we get the gist, but you most definitely stretching that one!! :)
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