People frown a lot on people who are perceived to be ‘Jack of all trades’, it is portrayed as a bad thing to have knowledge in a lot of areas.
First things first, the full and correct quote says “Jack of all trades, master of none, though ofttimes better than master of one”. Do your research, this quote is actually a compliment. The quote hints at what’s possible when we open up to diversify our knowledge.
Great business leaders teaches that a generalist; someone who knows about a lot of things and not a specialist is best suited to start businesses that can shake the world. In fact, one of the challenges the world currently faces is the challenge of ‘over specialisation’.
One of my greatest asset is my diversity. Its a useful strength to know a little about a lot of things.
You will make a lot of advancement in your business, projects, anything you spend your time doing if you opened up your mind to learning about a lot of things. People like Steve Jobs (Apple Inc.) were able to innovate across computing, mobile, music, retail, and many other areas due to the diversity of their knowledge.
At the initial stages, every business founder has to wear multiple hats… Marketer, Accountant, HR, Designer and Engineer. Only a ‘Jack of all trades’ can execute it well.
A: “Jack of all trades, Master of none…”
B: “Well, Mr A… I don’t need to master them all…”
That said, there is no physical law that we know that stops anybody from mastering everything.
A man can do all things if he wills. Specialization is for insects.
Don’t you ever become a specialist! Its a trap!
