My friend told me that his father used to say "know a little about a large number of things, and a lot about a little number of things". This quick, concise, and insightful quip let me think more about personal development of this new year and team building.
I've often considered the pros and cons of being a generalist. On the one hand, know "a little about a lot of things" allows you to connect with more people. You can have relatively insightful conversations with many thought leaders within a space, knowing relatively little about that space. For instance, if you know the terms "cap rate", "the 1% rule", and "cash flow", you can probably have an insightful discussion with someone about real estate investing.
On the other hand, "knowing a lot about a little number of things" grants you the ability to be one of the best and very few leaders within a particular skill set. Let's say you're a vintage clock repair person, such as John B. McLemore from STown. Well, then you may have people from all over the world seeking your particular skills.
But it's the combination of these two that makes an exceptional team. People who have a wide range of knowledge can easily connect with others in their organization and build a well-rounded company. Consider the three teams below.
Team 1 has a team of generalists. They will be able to get a good start on nearly every part of the company, but they will likely not build anything truly unique.
Team 2 will likely make a fantastic product, but they will both struggle to get it to market and to hire someone who will be able to.
Team 3 is the best position of the three. The group has a number of people who will be able to converse with one another, they will be able to hire people in their weaknesses, and they have a depth of knowledge in a plethora of fields.
Note, visually, this is easy to see. There seems to be a team that is better than the rest. But in your day to day life, you often seek those who are similar to you. Working with someone who has a small overlap in skill is often a more difficult decision to make than working with someone who is similar to you.