What Makes You So Special?
| July 20, 2012 | Posted by Roshawn Watson under Personal Development |
By: Roshawn Watson
We all like to believe that we are special. In fact, our own names are typically our favorite sounds. However, there are more reasons for being special than just the good feeling we get for being singled out. We live in a time where job security is not only an illusion, it is an oxymoron. No amount of skill or experience can guarantee that you won’t be tossed aside like yesterday’s garbage tomorrow. Often, the decision is not even made by your immediate supervisor but by people who look at you as simply a disposable unit of production and are hundreds (or thousands) of miles away. This is not cynical. It’s reality. Your competitive advantage in today’s job market lies in knowing what you do particularly well. Tell me friend, what makes you so special?
Being a “Jack of Many, Master of None” Can Diminish Your Ability to Capitalize on Your Best Talents
If you ask any class of 3rd graders “who can sing, dance, and draw?”, nearly every hand will go up. However, if you ask a random group 35 year olds, you will likely get just a handful making such a claim. At some point, we realize that doing everything is often not pragmatic. Generalists have their place and value, but don’t assume specialization is a bad word. There’s a reason why the typical neurosurgeon earns $490,040, which is more than $300,000 higher than what a family practice physician can expect. The increased specialization and training required to become a neurosurgeon catapults their compensations to levels few in the world are even familiar with. Your rewards in life are based on the problems you have chosen to solve, the speed and accuracy at which you solve them, and for whom you have decided to solve them for.
Related Article: Authenticity In The Workplace
Case Study 1: Millionaires Tend to Specialize
All too often though, we allow fleeting interests to dictate major life decisions; however millionaires take a different approach. They typically weren’t runaway successes at everything they did; they weren’t singled out by their professors as being stars. In Thomas Stanley’s cohort, the average millionaire GPA was 2.92 on a 4.0 scale. That didn’t stop them from pursuing their educations (Stanley found that 80% have graduated college) or finding their niches. In fact, narrowing in on what they did extremely well was how they became successful in the first place. If they had to compete against the lesions of superior academic achievers who were better at math, grammar, sports, and science, most would have been left behind. After all, Wellesley High School English teacher David McCullough Jr. accurately highlighted in his viral commencement speech that in the US alone, there are more than 37,000 high schools, meaning there are more than 37,000 valedictorians, 37,000 class presidents, 340,000 swaggering jocks, etc. Instead, Stanley argues that most millionaires stray away from areas traditionally overwrought with competition, favoring niches where they can be stand out stars in their own rights instead.
Sameness creates your comfort, but your difference creates your rewards
Remember, you don’t go to Wendy’s because it reminds you of McDonald’s. You don’t marry your husband because he reminds you of your first boyfriend. Your difference is your ultimate selling point, so don’t sell yourself short.
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Case Study 2: The Danger of Versatility
Someone that I used to supervise found this concept particularly challenging. “I’m good at everything” she frequently proclaimed. The depths of her delusions and sense of grandeur nearly warranted admission to a psychiatric hospital. She thought she was Mariah Carey, Albert Einstein, Adrianna Lima, and Michael Jordan all wrapped up into one. She wasn’t crazy though, but somehow she had missed the memo on distinguishing between things that she was passable at and things that she was truly exceptional at. You see there are things you can do and things that you are made to do. For example, once we reach 25 to 30 years old, we typically have the ability to do 150 to 200 different things. Merely having the ability to do something is a poor reason to spend your life doing it.
After a while, I began to feel very sad for her plight. She missed multiple opportunities to capitalize on her immense talents because other things would strike her fancy, and since she was “good at everything,” she saw no risk at changing course midstream. Accordingly, she never benefited from the power of focusing on her true strengths and passions because she never really knew what they were. Instead of becoming a runaway success, as she desired and felt she deserved, she was filled with regret and despair over lost opportunities.
You Must Manage “You Inc”
He who knows others is learned. He who knows himself is wise. Lao-Tse
Essentially, the market didn’t appreciate her because she didn’t brand herself to be appreciated. Sometimes we think of “brand management” in terms of multi-billion dollar companies and celebrities. For example, we know Oprah Winfrey to be a gifted interviewer and to possess a strong ability for connecting with her audience and guests; personal finance guru Suze Orman has a knack for touching with her viewers on an emotional level regarding their money; and fitness expert Jillian Michaels’ hardline, no-nonsense approach is just enough to get people into gear to meet their health goals. However, we often forget that we individually have brands too. Brands matter regardless of whether we are traditional employees, business owners, or celebrities. We too must clearly define what we are all about. After all, it is your brand that people trust and patronize. It is this brand that your employer will expend her political capital on to get you promoted or to spare your job. It is your brand that makes you a top recruit for other organizations.
Brand expert Scott Bedbury (Nike and Starbucks) says “a great brand taps into emotions…” (that) drive most, if not all, of our decisions. A brand reaches out with [a] powerful connecting experience.”
Failing to realize what your brand represents can be a fatal flaw. At a conference last year, Gerald Adolph, Senior Partner at consultancy firm Booz & Company, indicated that when companies cannot establish their unique value propositions in crowded fields, they will be easily cannibalized by other companies with similar offerings. Essentially, these companies have identity crises. We too can suffer from the same ailment.
To improve your brand:
- Know your distinctive differences, possess marketable skills, and network.
- Always have an elevator speech handy where you can clearly and succinctly describe your skills and abilities, personality tendencies, and values, dreams and passions.
- Apply the 3-foot rule: if someone is within 3 feet of you, talk to them about what you have to offer them.
In short, simply being good is simply not enough.
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” Martin Luther King Jr.
Closing Thoughts
Eking out a competitive edge may be easier than you think. You don’t necessarily have to be 3 times better. Small distinctions matter IF they are significant. Endeavor to do things at least 10% better than your nearest competitor, and you can be noticed. Moreover, even differences, not necessarily improvements, can be all that are necessary to carve out a niche. For example, Gerald Adolph indicated that the inventories of Wal-mart and Target are actually about 85% similar, yet they have widely different marketing strategies, attract different customer bases, and have vastly different brands. Therefore, carefully inventory your uniqueness and position yourself accordingly, so that there is no doubt that you are more than a disposable unit of production.
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Totally agree with you. Successful people became successful by focusing on what they were good at, and delegating the things that they weren't good at to others. That way, everything is done perfectly.
Tony, what a fabulously succinct and and poignant comment. Thank you!
I think specialization is a good thing, but there are some negatives too. I have a specialty at my old job (DRAM) and it was good for many years. I'm one of the experts, but when the specialty changed location, I had to learn a different area and it was difficult. But I agree that being an expert at one thing is much better than being a jack of all trades.
I disagree with the street sweeper speech. Time has changed. You don't need to be the best street sweeper, get a better job instead.
Yes, you are right in the downside to specialization. That's a great real-life example. I'm not sure I understand your street sweeper point though. While you may get a better job as a mediocre street sweeper (or mediocre "fill-in the blank") elsewhere, wouldn't your best opportunity lie in being the best that you can be regardless of where you are? Excellence has both intrinsic and extrinsic value. I'm not sure of the value of mediocrity, except in Reality TV. Can you elaborate a little bit Joe?
I just think that the street sweeper can get a job driving the garbage truck or something like that. It's probably easier to change career these days.
I see. I think it is all about perspective. If your goal is to stay at mediocrity, I think it is hard to go from street sweeper to owner of your own super-successful janitorial company with franchises all over the country if you're just looking to do just "enough." Sure somewhat lateral moves are possible, but those won't necessarily be world-changing increases in pay and responsibility in most cases because you simply won't qualify for better. I guess in that sense, it is more about the opportunities one gets from excellence. However, I 100% agree with you that if you are not valued in your current position, plan your departure. There is no need to be abused or ignored. Great discussion!
I see your point too. I was thinking it's easier these days to move up by changing job and career. 60 years ago opportunities are more limited IMO. You're thinking that being best at what you do will improve your career. I think that's more true today too. In the old days, someone might be stuck in a mediocre job for life even if he/she is the best at what they do. What do you think?
I think opportunities for advance are present, but we have unprecedented leverage due to technology. That said, it is hard to gain the type of competitive edge with yesterday's news and ways, so you need to do more to be a value-added employee or entrepreneur. We have to adapt. That said, I totally agree with your point that sometimes you need to just jump ship if you are having absolutely no progress. However, I think before you do that, you should look in the mirror to see if you are the problem rather than your employer.
There is an advantage for old(er) experienced workers! We figured out our skills and how to use them. Maybe, it is because I have had to figure it out or express it many times to various employers. Certain skills such as problem solving or communication skills may be general, but it makes me more effective in anything I do. When I was consulting, I needed these skills because I would be in new situations everyday. I see myself as a problem solver more than my title of teacher. I have a reputation at school as someone gets things done.
I definitely think experienced workers seem to have an advantage, particularly over people just coming out of school. I think it can be challenging in some areas to convince potential employers to take a risk on an unproven commodity, particularly if the company's budget for new hires is limited. That said, younger workers are not completely left out in the cold and some advantages too t hat you are up to the task. The bad part about this though is young people are less skilled at playing up those advantages, just like you said.
Absolutely Outstanding! And I'm not just saying that to make you feel special. 😉
Do you find it's necessary to have more than just one specialty, though? I mean, instead of just one thing- have 3-5 things you're really good at doing. And perhaps, those 3-5 things are related in some way?
Thank you Dave. You are too kind.
Even if your goal is to become an expert, I think it is certainly possible to keep up with more than topic. Ideally, they would overlap. If not, then consider a maximum of 3. Doing many more, the risk is that you never truly become an expert in your chosen subjects. Now, everyone doesn't need to become a subject matter expert in the academic sense although it is great if you do. Plenty of writers, for example, can write about multiple topics even if they "brand themselves" a certain way. People in such professions need to keep in mind what they are truly experts in (i.e., it may not be a therapeutic area, scientific discipline, etc). Instead, they could be experts in technical writing (because they have phenomenal research skills, speed in writing, editorial abilities, and can consistently deliver polished work).
Very informative article. I really need to work on my branding with my blog. I have some plans though so hopefully they work!
Thanks so much Lance. I definitely need to work on branding my blog better too 🙂 Thanks for the comment.
Man, 37,000 valedectorians a year makes me want to just get a 2.9 GPA like the millionaires in TJS's book!
Haha Sam. It certainly is enlightening that so many millionaires are "average" students. Some of the things we discount, such as coloring outside of the lines, networking, and having unwieldy optimism, end up being some of the very traits that allow millionaires such as yourself to dominate in the most important marketplace.
I read the section on "Jack of all trades" twice. It's very interesting to me. I've always tried to do my best, no matter what I'm trying, but maybe I've been wasting my time? If you try to be "good" at everything, will you ever truly be "great" at anything? I love your thought-provoking posts, Roshawn! Hope your weekend is off to a great start!
-M
Thanks so much Michelle! I love writing articles that provide value 🙂
The last thing I want to endorse is mediocrity. I don't know if doing your best is a hazard,, but there are powerful benefits to focusing on your core competencies and raising them to their highest level of excellence. If in doing so, that means that you are not able to spin 14 hours each weekend cleaning and organizing (i.e., a poor Martha Stewart), then it is okay to embrace that. Knowing that there are some areas that others are perhaps more gifted to do and that are not of particular interest to you can be liberating: it can free up your time to things that are more impactful.
You have to find your niche skill to make six figure. This post resonates well with me as I have personally benefited by applying the niche concept to earn well. I've written a similar post that you may like – http://www.streetsmartfinance.org/2012/07/07/how-…
Thanks for the recommendation Shiplan. Yes, it is easier to to make a significant income when your skills are in short supply.
I am not surprised to hear the average GPA of millionaires was in the B- range. I find that a lot of times, the really smart students tend to do more cerebral work that doesn't necessarily pay as well. And not to get political or anything, but when I see someone like Mitt Romney, my immediate thoughts aren't "genius" – they are more like, "Here was someone who saw a niche/opportunity and had the guts to take advantage of it." Being rich doesn't always equate to being smart, just opportunistic and, in many cases, brave.
Hey Elizabeth,
That's a good point (& depressing). Certainly some physicians are really smart and seem to do well overall. However, so are many scientist, and scientists pay is really all over the map.
Interesting point about Mitt Romney.
Agree that it is important to know what makes us special. I do find it hard though – it is not about being good in everything but more like pinpointing three things that make me different. Interestingly when researching maverik scietists (you know I do this one, right) it is clear that what makes them exceptional is not their research competencies – anyone above a certain level has those. What makes an outstanding scientist (scholar) is a different set of competencies (writing and courage came very high on the list).
I have tried asking people I write with about this and the best they could come up with was: 'you are one of the most creative person I know' and 'you have great sense of humour'. Which tells me that if the academic lark fails I'll try stand up comedy!
Maria, the next Joan Rivers…who would have thought? That's pretty interesting. Yes, scholarship is a minimal requirement just like you said. I can see where writing and courage are important too. Honestly, those would be good qualities for most of us to have too (if only… dreaming). Thanks for sharing!
Well said Shawn. I think that over my years of work, I have learned that the things that I thought I was great at were usually those things I was only a little good at. Seeking feedback and learning from it goes a long way in recognizing where your talents really lie.
Thank you Thad!
I like how you set out to find your true talents.That's a great example of the process of finding yourself. I guess all of us will have such awakenings from time to time. Hopefully, others will follow your example of self-discovery rather than finding out at a critical life juncture or embarrassed by your inability to perform something that you were never designed to do.
I love the MLK quote and have thought about it many times while working. Many workers today don't have any pride in their skills or their craft. They just want to get paid and go home.
Agreed. It is quite disturbing the lack of care people have. There is often no consideration for their life's work. Yes, people have to look out for themselves, but if that is all that you are doing, then, you are likely missing much.
This is undoubtedly a masterpiece. This reminds me of my college days when I was being forced upon concentrating on literature to take it as my career option, while throughout I felt that it isn’t my cup of tea. But look at me today!! I have fortunately been able to come out of it and today have established myself into the IT sector.
Andrea,
Thank you so much. I cherish your esteem!
I'm very happy that you knew that it wasn't right for you and didn't lie to yourself and get stuck in a career that was clearly wrong. Sometimes, things just don't feel right, and we ignore that feeling to our own demise. Congrats on moving into IT!
I think this can go both ways. I think being a jack of all trades can work in your favour because you can be versatile and help out which means people will call on you and opportunities will arise that might serve to your benefit. I also think though that we need to focus on developing those couple things that we do great into doing them amazing. This will be our edge against the other jack of all trade people out there. That will be our individual contribution.
I'm fine for note being inept and for having areas of concentration. I think we're pretty close in our view. Most people do have to wear multiple hats, but moving towards/developing an area of expertise (or a couple) can make you a true asset. Jack of all can be beneficial particularly for entrepreneurs where the buck begins and ends with you.
It's funny. In Stanley's book Networking With The Affluent, he talks about how to sell to them. Guess what the answer is: become a specialist! Another great piece.
Thanks so much Average Joe. You know, that's one of his few books that I haven't read. I may have to trouble you for a brief review if you have time. Thanks so much for the comment!
Good stuff. I've definitely gotten the most traction by specializing with my day gig. When I was more of a jack of all trades, I ended up more stressed with random assignments that I had to learn each time. Once I focused, I was in more demand, worked less and knew more of what I was doing, so I didn't have to look everything up all the time… 🙂
That sounds so great Nick!!!
That's kind of how I feel too sometimes when I don't focus on my core areas: stretched too thin. It's amazing how it ends up helping you become even more excellent when you are concentrating on "your turf" primarily.
Companies who excel at outsourcing have a deep understanding of this concept. There are many others who can do your non-core functions much better than you, so focus on what you can do best. In Thomas Stanley's books, I recall that some of the profiled millionaires would rather spend time planning and executing their next financial move than making home repairs or mowing the lawn.
Andrew, this is a great point. This is almost always in the back of mind: how can you be the most valuable. How can you make yourself difficult to replace. Yes, you are definitely right about Stanley's book: it is all about opportunity cost and being the most economically productive. Millionaires know the difference between saving $50 and earning $200 and often will choose to focus on higher impact activities.
I completely agree. I believe in specialization, and finding others who can fill in the gaps. Being the expert in one are is wayyy better than ok at multiple things.
[…] Related Article : What Makes You So Special? […]
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