New Problems, New Approaches: The Rise of the Generalist

Almost every company as we know it has specialist organizations to support its business priorities.

Organizations such as Finance, HR, IT and Marketing have been in existence for as long as we can remember. In most companies, domain expertise, efficiency and process execution dominate the agenda for these organizations. You get hired, promoted and measured based on your expertise and value-add in your particular specialization.

This is all good, but what happens when the organization needs to solve a big hairy problem or launches a new business model that requires all-hands on deck?

While some companies have been successful in bringing together cross-functional teams to work together towards a common goal, the teams often have limited perspective and the lack of the capability to connect the dots. The result: problems are not getting fixed.

Furthermore, in the age of mounting competition and vast technological change, the capabilities needed to successfully differentiate a company and win in the marketplace are much broader than they were in the past. That’s not to say that there aren’t brilliant minds working in IT, finance or HR, but if your company wants to be better than anyone else and relevant to its customers, you need new approaches and capabilities to be able to problem-find/problem-solve and execute on your vision.

Value creation and problem solving don’t always intersect within areas of specialization. More than often, they span across multiple disciplines and across lines of business and industries. We can no longer rely on just bringing together groups of specialists to solve our most complex problems. Instead, companies are in need of Generalist individuals with new, agile skills that can see the big picture, listen, synthesize ideas and connect the dots.

Why in the world would we need Generalists? Going back to 1776, in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, division of labor always represented a qualitative increase in productivity. We’ve built our entire society and educational system around specialization. When asked what they wanted to be when they grow up, no child has likely ever answered “a generalist”.

We’ve been trained to perceive Generalists as ‘jacks of all trades – masters of none’, in other words, driving little to no value in the business. The new breed of ‘Generalist’ that our organizations desperately need defies and deeply challenges these perceptions.

The new Generalist is in fact a master of their trade. They bring expertise and experience in several areas, fueled by insatiable curiosity and the ability to “hyper-learn” new concepts and ideas.

 

They practice empathy to fully understand and break down the nature of complex problems and collaboratively engage specialists in reframing the problem in order to arrive at potential solutions.

They complement specialists, by challenging them to think differently, but never compete with them or take credit for their ideas. They approach challenges with an open mind, using a “how might we” mindset rather than come with pre-conceived ideas.

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

Lastly, they encourage and promote change from within by understanding and diffusing resistance to change.

If it sounds like these Generalists need to come from another planet, don’t stress. While it is likely far from the traditional roles you will see in an organization, if you take a deep look at your talent, you will be able to identify individuals with the right traits to play this critical role.
Consider looking at the following attributes as indicators of potential:

Attitude first, not only experience. A “Can-do” attitude and a high degree of motivation are a must. The Generalist must note constraints, but has to creatively encourage ways to work around them.

Intellectually curious (to an extreme level). Can learn and (un)learn any topic (enough to be dangerous) in a matter of hours. Learns on their own as well as from others by asking questions.

Connects the Dots. Can bring in new perspectives and ideas from other disciplines, industries, etc.

Practices empathy. Can imagine the world from different perspective. Those of colleagues, customers, users, etc. Takes time to listen and understand before presenting their own ideas.

Leads by influence and collaboration. Can earn the respect of the specialists, influence new ways of thinking and an open mindset towards new ideas.

Constantly challenges the status quo and encourages new ways of doing things
Different companies will find different paths to solve their wicked problems, but every company will need to consider the new capabilities they require to solve them. By harnessing the full potential and experience from the functional organizations, and designing solutions we will continue to see the rise of Generalists (whether its called that or not), driving profound change in modern organizations.

Are you a Generalist? Do you see a void requiring new capabilities to solve problems?


Posted by:Reuven Gorsht

3 Steps to Establish Thought Leadership with Your B2B Blog

Louis Foong

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

It’s great to be back after the break. There is something about an end of the year holiday that makes it unique and extra special. Yes, we eat too much, drink too much, sleep too little, party hard and indulge in all those typical holiday season activities. Yet, amidst all the frenzy is a time to bond with family and friends. Above all, I personally find that it is a very powerful time for reflection. Looking back on an entire year of events both at a personal and professional level allows for deep thinking about many important matters. I come back bursting with new ideas, new found energy, relaxed, refreshed and raring to go!

In the course of my frequent travels, I meet many interesting individuals from all walks of life. Many of these are leaders—in different ways, leading a variety of people, sharing their knowledge and expertise on a broad range of important subjects. From the farm-to-table cuisine expert and renowned master chef, Michael Stadtländer at Eigensinn Farm, to my nephew, Miguel Chan who is a Certified Sommelier (wine expert), to the local Samaritan who brought us safely down the mountain in Sacred Valley, Peru, (after our guide abandoned us in the dark!), to heads of organizations and associates I work with—I consider myself blessed to encounter these personalities who enlighten me with their thoughts. It gives me a steady infusion of motivation and inspiration to think differently. That, in my opinion, is the key to establishing thought leadership. 

Below are 3 fundamental steps to use your B2B blog and present your organization as a thought leader in the industry:

1. Define value creation. It’s all very well to profess that your blog aims to lead and inspire. However, unless your customers and prospects are able to take your innovative ideas and put them into practice for better organizational performance, you have not quite hit the mark for value creation. How do you define value? In order to judge the value quotient of what you deliver, you need to have in place good measurement metrics and feedback mechanisms to actually gauge how customers rate your offering on various parameters.

2. Encourage interactivity and drive engagement. When I go into a restaurant for the first time, I always like to get the maître d’s recommendation on the food. Depending on how that conversation progresses, I either make my own choices entirely or go along with some of the interesting suggestions. My mind rapidly processes my comfort level and confidence in the host, his or her passion (or lack of it) about the food, the overall ambiance of the place and how engaged I feel in the dining experience even before the food has arrived. B2B buyers process their experience with a seller in much the same way. Trust, comfort, positive interaction, confidence and interest are all necessary ingredients to building engagement.

Your business blog must incorporate these essentials; and it is not difficult to do so today. The technology and blogging platforms available are inherently very powerful in themselves. Interesting, relevant content presented in an engaging manner will then ensure good readership. As you start to get increased readers and your posts get shared across other blogs and forums, you will be steadily on your way to establishing thought leadership. Have questions? Need more ideas? Join this exclusive, B2B LinkedIn Group and exchange notes with some great minds in the industry.

3. Be creative and think ‘new’. The pressure to generate high volumes of content puts bloggers and organizations into the rut of recycle-repurpose-republish. The problem is, due to the ease and speed with which your audience can access multiple content platforms simultaneously, you need to be careful not to bore them. If they see the same “old wine in a new bottle” type of content over and over again, you are likely to lose their following very quickly.

As Seth Godin says in his book, Poke the Box, the “fear of doing things differently” is fed and nurtured through years of conformity and mediocrity. You need to start something “important, frightening and new.”

I don’t say that it is easy to be creative and offer up fresh, new content all the time. I know how hard it is with my blog! But as I’ve said in a previous piece about marketing innovation, you have to ask different questions—to your peers, business associates, your staff and your customers. Who knows, your accounting folks may share an inspiring story about an innovative cost-saving idea before the close of the year. Would your customers be able to implement a similar idea? Then why not share it on your blog? Talk to IT—what are they doing that is new and exciting? Are the results going to make your bottom line look better this year? Maybe your customers will love to hear about that. Ask your customers what they are finding most challenging as the new year unfolds. Do you have a recommended solution—now, be careful not to “sell” it! But go ahead and throw some light on the subject to make things easier for your clients. They will come back to your blog more often and be happy to share your valuable content within their circle of influence.

About the author: Louis Foong 

Louis Foong is the founder and CEO of The ALEA Group Inc, one of North America’s most innovative B2B demand generation specialists. As a thought leader with more than three decades of experience in the field, Louis guides his team and ALEA’s clients through the dynamic, evolving lead generation landscape. His astute sense of marketing and sales along with a clear vision and ability to see the “big picture” has proved beneficial to numerous organizations, both small and large. With the right advice and a slew of result-driven services, he enables clients to gain maximum return on investment for their lead generation efforts. His clients include companies in the technology, telecommunications, software, healthcare and professional services industries. Prior to starting the ALEA Group, Louis Foong has held various senior executive positions within corporate America. Today he is known and well-respected as a thought leader and pioneer in this industry. Foong is a published blogger and among the top authors on CustomerThink, a global online community of business leaders.