Specialists vs. Generalists
'Specialists' are experts in a profession, while a 'generalist' is a person with a wide variety of knowledge. Both are valuable in the workplace, although the debate between which is more needed is a popular one, and often comes down to the specific industry and company. At the moment the digital industry is asking itself that very question. According to an article by leading tech blog, Econsultancy, "the more subs specialists you have, the better the end result." But in digital's move towards integrated agencies, and the rush it finds itself in to consolidate, acquire and strategise, specialists become a bit obsolete.
What is this rush anyway and how is it affecting the work that is being produced? Digital expert, Olivier Blanchard, published a blog post recently called 'The petty tyrannies of social media'. In it he discussed how in our rush to be 'content kings' and stay on top of the social media game a lot of the things we write and work we produce is less than satisfactory - that in the end "more and faster keep the [social media] wheels turning."
Becoming a specialist takes time, and not just time learning one branch of knowledge or honing one or two skill sets. Specialists know their expertise inside and out, but they also understand the niches, divisions or departments that surround it. To be an expert in one thing is to know how it fits and works together with another.
Whether you work in an agency or anywhere else, so much time is wasted trying to convince one specialist how to integrate their product with another department. Peoples egos get in the way as does their stubbornness to adapt their work to accommodate a new medium. In times like these it is better to be a generalist, or a specialist with a greater breadth of knowledge.
Integrated agencies are the future for a few reasons. First, clients tend to like having one company that can handle all of their requirements, second, integrated agencies will understand all of the departments in their company at a basic level, which means that before anything is pitched back to the client they are sure that it works along side the rest of the campaign, and finally it might help minimise the supply chain, because at the moment - with all of these tech subdivisions - the journey from advertiser to consumer is getting longer.
What do you think is more important - specialist or generalist?
About the Author
Adaptive Consultancy is a London-based digital agency specialising in web development, design, ecommerce and internet marketing. Services include search engine optimisation, paid search, email and social media marketing. For more on web marketing specialist visit http://www.adaptiveconsultancy.com/
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