Comments on: Be a Winner by Being a Versatilist: What, Why and How

By: Learning and People Skills

Learning and People Skills — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:16:40 +0000

[...] In this kind of world, just being a generalist or specialist is not enough. You need to become a versatilist. A versatilist is a person who can quickly adapt to new situations and take advantage of them. I [...]

By: Tips For Developing Skills « Win Naing Lay

Tips For Developing Skills « Win Naing Lay — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 07:14:31 +0000

[...] Be a Winner by Being a Versatilist: What, Why and How [...]

By: Tips for Developing Skills

Tips for Developing Skills — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:22:36 +0000

[...] Be a Winner by Being a Versatilist: What, Why and How [...]

By: Donald Latumahina

Donald Latumahina — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:34:26 +0000

Helio, I think versatilists are not deeper and wider at the same time. Instead, they go deep on one subject at a time. Their strength lies in their ability to pick the right subject and quickly learn it.

By: Helio Miranda

Helio Miranda — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:39:55 +0000

I think that the problem of being “deeper and wider” as Slavi’s professors said, is the time. It looks like the Versalist is a combination of a Specialist with a Generalist. It’s a person who have a relative deep technical knowledge in some areas with the skill to connect it with fields that borders with them. As we all know it’s not a easy task to build a deep knowledge, it may take years before you can use a skill efficiently. I wonder how the Versalist will deal with this apparent overload (of being deeper and wider at the same time). Maybe this is the biggest challenge: How to be the right versalist at the right time…

By: Donald Latumahina

Donald Latumahina — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:42:01 +0000

Slavi,
You’re welcome, I’m glad you like it. I agree with your professor. Being specialist is good, but being versatilist is even better.

By: Slavi

Slavi — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:10:36 +0000

Hi.

thanks for the great post!

I asked one of my professors from the University what should I put as my future goals be a specialist or generalist and she replied to me:
it depends on your personal goals, if you want to work a non-managerial positions you could be specialist, on the other hand if you want to really succeed you have to go deeper and wider, i.e. Versatilist.

Take care,
Slavi

By: Donald Latumahina

Donald Latumahina — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 05:01:03 +0000

You’re welcome, Chiz!

By: chiz

chiz — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:50:02 +0000

Good post. You make some great points that most people
do not fully understand.

“Of course, versatilists need more than just anticipation engine and learning engine to succeed. To execute the third step in the graph – taking opportunities of the new wave – they also need other skills such as communication skill or conflict resolution.”

I like how you explained that. Very helpful. Thanks.

By: Personal Growth and Effectiveness at Life Optimizer

Personal Growth and Effectiveness at Life Optimizer — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 01:52:08 +0000

[...] You should have deep knowledge in one or two fields which become your specialization (the head of the tail). These are the fields for which you are known to the outside world. On the other side, you should know a little about a lot of other fields, even those unrelated to your specialization (the long tail). Knowing these other fields helps you understand what options are available and quickly recognize emerging trends. You can then move fast to ride the waves of those emerging trends. This way you will become a versatilist. [...]