1. The Rise of
the
Generalist
New Problems Require New Approaches
@reuvengorsht

2. Almost every organization looks like this

3. HR
With Specialist organizations
Designed to support business priorities
Finance R D
IT

4. They value deep domain expertise, efficiency and
process execution
Domain expertise efficiency process
execution

5. You get hired, promoted and measured based on your
expertise and value-add in your particular specialization

6. Going back to 1776, in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations,
division of labor always represented a qualitative
increase in productivity

7. We’ve built our entire society and educational system around
specialization

8. The way to move up the ladder is to
focus and get good at something
VP of HR CIO
VP of
Procurement
VP of Sales

9. However, issues that businesses face today are
MUCH MORE COMPLEX

10. And when complex problems arise,
WHAT
HOW
WHY
BUT
HUH

11. Odds are they don’t always intersect
within areas of specialization

12. Each specialist sees the problem through
THEIR OWN LENS

13. Which leads to
NARROW
perspectives

14. While some companies
have been successful in
bringing together cross-
functional teams to work
together towards a
Common goal

15. Many resort to creating more
specialized silos

16. Hiring
MORE SPECIALISTS
to facilitate
communications between
specialists

17. But this only increases
Complexity and distance from
THE customer

18. Problems remain unsolved

19. The bottom line is that capabilities needed to win in the
marketplace are
much broader
than they were in the past

20. What organizations really need are
Generalists
with new and agile skills

21. But aren’t Generalist
jacks of all trades
masters of none

22. NOT AT
ALL!

23. The new Generalist is a master of their trade
They bring expertise and
experience FROM several areas

24. They see
the big picture

25. They understand and can synthesize
the full scope at hand

26. They are fueled by insatiable curiosity and the ability to
LEARN AND UNLEARN
new concepts and ideas.

27. They act like the hub of a wheel
Connecting teams of
experts

28. They complement specialists, by challenging them to think differently
but never compete with them or
take credit for their ideas

29. they can reframe, package and present
ideas, helping decision makers visualize
the future.
As outstanding communicators

30. by understanding and personally diffusing
resistance to change.
they encourage and promote
change from within

31. The new generalist is
courageous,
the
ultimate balancer of
competing interests,
and a natural
strategic thinker

32. the specialist and
the generalist
The modern organization needs both

33. But it requires rethinking
how we recruit and how we manage

34. Generalists don’t typically fit
In a box

35. NEW SKILLS
need to be
DEVELOPED

36. HOW CAN YOU SPOT a
great GENERALIST?

37. Attitude first not only experience

38. Intellectually curious
(to an extreme level)
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39. ALWAYS CONNECTS THE DOTS

40. Can imagine EVERYTHING
From a different perspective

41. Leads by influence and
collaboration

42. Constantly challenges THE status quo
and
Encourages new wayS of doing things

43. ARE YOU READY FOR
The rise of
the generalist?
@reuvengorsht
www.reuvengorsht.com