Ask yourself this question... do you have a

specialization?

Sorry I've been quiet of late....

I've been traveling (again) - this time to re-sink my teeth again into the world of academia and physics.... I'll write more about that in the future....

Returning back to the hallowed halls of university academic life for a short time, among all these experts in their fields, has made me realize something.

The power of SPECIALIZATION.

Think about it.

Who makes more:

Specialist doctors, like surgeons?

Or general practitioners?

SPECIALISTS earn more, and are more highly valued. This is true in general.

Are you aiming to become a specialist, or just a generalist in your area?

Think about it! It could have an effect on your future chances of success!

- Dien Rice (Ph.D.)

Very true. Most of the guys that worked for me pulled in a pretty good salary but most were less than 100k. But the specialized consultant I used cost 200/hr plus expenses for months on end.

She had a skill that's hard to find in the market. (I need to leave her specialty out of this.) So she made over 100K in 3 months vs. the less specialized guys who took regular jobs with us. She also has customers all over the world, so she gets paid trips to Europe and makes about 400k on her personal consulting alone. She also has some other people that do this for her as well. All from a specialty.

Good point, Dien. Specialization could help us prosper in this information age. Link it with positioning and niche marketing, to go further ...
Alexander
MiniJV Specialist




MarketingTargets.com

Hi Dien,

I'd like you to imagine that "YOU ARE THE MAN" in your town.

(Hey I know you "Rule" the SOWPUB world but this is just hypothetically speaking :->)

You are the richest man in town. You own a huge Direct Mail Corporation. You sell a very Unique product.

You also have the top specialists in the county working for YOU. Ace Accountants, Superstar Marketing ladies, the best copywriters, 5 star customer service people, The top computer nerd in the land...etc.etc.

STOP!

"O.K come back to SOWPUB for just a minute."

Here are my 3 questions.

1) How would you stop your top employees from taking your idea/ideas and building a business of their own to compete with you?...

2) How would you get them to work for YOU as employees for the rest of their lives, without ever thinking of leaving?

3) Now here's the kicker, how do you do it without the Use of Contracts? and Have them be very happy to do it?

If you could please answer these questions and then I'll post my reply to your original post.

Sincerely,

Duane Adolph

> specialization?

> Sorry I've been quiet of late....

> I've been traveling (again) - this time to
> re-sink my teeth again into the world of
> academia and physics.... I'll write more
> about that in the future....

> Returning back to the hallowed halls of
> university academic life for a short time,
> among all these experts in their fields, has
> made me realize something.

> The power of SPECIALIZATION.

> Think about it.

> Who makes more:

> Specialist doctors, like surgeons?

> Or general practitioners?

> SPECIALISTS earn more, and are more highly
> valued. This is true in general.

> Are you aiming to become a specialist, or
> just a generalist in your area?

> Think about it! It could have an effect on
> your future chances of success!

> - Dien Rice (Ph.D.)

Hi Duane,

How about giving them their regular paycheck + performance bonuses + company stock all as incentives NOT to leave.

There will still be an attrition factor because some people are diehard entrepreneurs. However, the above mentioned incentives seem like the way to go.

I'm interested in seeing your reply to Dien's original post.

Respectfully,

Paul Short
EbizEdge.com

Hi Duane!

You've got some interesting questions!

> 1) How would you stop your top employees
> from taking your idea/ideas and building a
> business of their own to compete with
> you?...

> 2) How would you get them to work for YOU as
> employees for the rest of their lives,
> without ever thinking of leaving?

> 3) Now here's the kicker, how do you do it
> without the Use of Contracts? and Have them
> be very happy to do it?

I would turn the questions around....

What would it take so that I wouldn't leave a business and compete?

I think for me, it would take:

1. A good work environment - one where I was respected and my input was appreciated
2. Good pay, and
3. Some kind of stock option or stock ownership plan - I'd like to be a part-owner of the business (even if my stake was small)....

I think it's impossible to stop everyone from necessarily leaving, but I think you could probably do quite a lot to keep your talent.... :)

> If you could please answer these questions
> and then I'll post my reply to your original
> post.

That's what I think, just off the cuff.... I'd love to hear what else you have to share! :)

- Dien Rice

> 1) How would you stop your top employees
> from taking your idea/ideas and building a
> business of their own to compete with
> you?...

Let me be VERY brutal here: Unless Top Businessman is making a ton of mistakes and employee morale is the pits, the chances of a New Guy taking over the niche is small. It can be done with a large enough organization and enough money -- but newcomers don't have the contacts or name recognition and may not have the staying power to do it. Building THE #1 business in a niche is NOT something done in one year or two. It takes up to 5 years... or longer.

> 2) How would you get them to work for YOU as
> employees for the rest of their lives,
> without ever thinking of leaving?

Me? I'd hire the people that employers often overlook -- the older worker. Offer a good compensation plan and insurance. Too many people look at age and not experience and dedication.

> 3) Now here's the kicker, how do you do it
> without the Use of Contracts? and Have them
> be very happy to do it?

Not sure what you mean here. In the US, unless you're doing "work for hire" jobs (like lawn work or a friend doing secretarial work for you), a letter of agreement/hiring contract protects both the employer and employee. Even a bill of sale for services (such as tree trimming) spells out the services received for the payment.

What, exactly, do YOU mean by that?

Hi Dien,

I'll answer my 3 questions in another post. Here is the question you asked which set of the BIG DEBATE in my mind.

> Are you aiming to become a specialist, or
> just a generalist in your area?

I have vehemently argued with others over the years that SPECIALIZATION or being a SPECIALIST is what will keep a lot of people stuck working as employees for a very long time.

I have basically said that in order to Build any form of real wealth, and EARN MORE one should strive to be a GENERALIST.

Here's my current definition of the two.

Specialists: Need to be good and concentrate on only ONE THING (their specialty) eg. artist, technicians, accountants

Generalists: Have to be good at a variety of things and areas. eg. entrepreneurs, business owners etc.

O.K with those two groups of people defined, here are my challenges with specialization, and my view on Generalists.

1) Specialization could hinder ones earning potential.

- You could be the best computer technician your company has ever seen, however if you don't know how to market those skills, can't communicate or deal with clients, Negotiate, then you will never become a TOP PAID Consultant. (The consultant is a GENERALIST and can BUILD WEALTH through Multiple clients)

- You could be the best, Short Story Writer, in the world but if you don't learn some other skills like how to sell, than you will continue to earn your meager wage.(Remember the example about being a "best selling" author from Kiyosaki's book Rich DAD POOR DAD )

- You could be the best, salesperson at your company, however it doesn't mean that you can go on to become a successful entrepreneur. Many sales people do not go on to build organizations.

2) Specialization stunts Big Business as well

- The specialized departments don't talk to each other, and decision-making doesn't get done quickly enough.
(My personal observation based on my own experience in IT/Telecommunications/Hospitality and Government sectors)

- Nobody really seems to have a clue as to the BIG PICTURE and what is actually happening in the business. (My discussions with some topic Directors, has lead me to question the qualifications needed to hold these positions)

3) Specialization "potentially" stifles adaptability and personal growth

- Have you ever seen the difficulty that some specialists have when they have to
start their own business?

- Or have you ever taken a cracker jack specialist into an area outside of their specialty. Some just seem to have a lot of difficulty doing something NEW.

Generalists on the other hand are some of the Wealthiest People in History.

1) Being a Generalist can earn you more money. You have skill sets you can use to build wealth.
And you can Hire all the specialists you need.

- Bill Gates: Former specialist turned World Richest Man. More than just a computer nerd.

- Andrew Carnegie: When lawyers were asking him questions to test his intelligence replied something like the following "All I have to do is push some buttons and I can have all of your questions answered"

- The President of the United States. Surrounds himself with the specialists. Does he really write those speeches

- Richdad Surrounded himself with specialists Accountants, Lawyers, Financial Advisors

2) Being a Generalists. Encourages you to become more entrepreneurial and can help big business.

- I wonder what would happen if more of the specialist actually had jobs that required them to DO MORE than just their specialty. I have only been exposed to very few of these types of large organizations. SCI (Suarez Corporations Industries is a fantastic example. THANKS GORDON.

3) Having the mindset of a Generalist is what Frees your mind to NEW Possibilities and makes one Very adaptable and able to learn new things. More quickly.

Examples:
- Jay Abraham: Marketing Breakthrough's. He worked in so many industries before he became the highly paid marketing consultant.

- Henry Ford: The concept of the assembly line came from a meat processing plant's system.

- The Mapping of the human GENOME, combined different Specialty areas Science, Technology and Business

- Hey what about NLP? Did it too combine different specialties, to revolutionize therapy?

In Conclusion.

We all might be ONE skill away from Earning a lot more money. Keep Learning.

Think about it. Who earns more, the top Specialist? or the Generalist business owner that Hired them to do the job?

There's my 3 cents.

Thanks for reading through all this.

Duane O. Adolph

P.S

I leave you with a quote from Direct Marketing Legend Benjamin Suarez.

"A businessperson must bring diverse elements such as people, machines, money, and markets into an operational entity...He or she must be able to see relationships between supposedly unrelated variables. He or she must be an innovator, organizer, negotiator, motivator, and most of all, a salesperson...Businesspeople need a huge amount of talent to be successful. Without business, there are no governments, schools, arts, jobs, money goods or services"[/i]

> specialization?

> Sorry I've been quiet of late....

> I've been traveling (again) - this time to
> re-sink my teeth again into the world of
> academia and physics.... I'll write more
> about that in the future....

> Returning back to the hallowed halls of
> university academic life for a short time,
> among all these experts in their fields, has
> made me realize something.

> The power of SPECIALIZATION.

> Think about it.

> Who makes more:

> Specialist doctors, like surgeons?

> Or general practitioners?

> SPECIALISTS earn more, and are more highly
> valued. This is true in general.

> Are you aiming to become a specialist, or
> just a generalist in your area?

> Think about it! It could have an effect on
> your future chances of success!

> - Dien Rice (Ph.D.)

Hi Duane,

You make excellent points!

As an illustration of your point, if you specialize in something which is not in high demand, you could specialize yourself right out of an income.

Probably the best example of people like this which I can think of are people who do Ph.D.'s in philosophy. The only way you can get a job with it is to get an academic position teaching philosophy to the next generation of students! As a result, many people with Ph.D.'s in philosophy end up driving taxis, working as bank tellers, etc. - NOTHING to do with their specialization.

On the other hand, here's the opposite example. My notebook computer needed some repairs recently (the screen stopped working), and I found a specialist notebook computer repair place near me to get it fixed.

They specialize in fixing notebook computers - they don't do anything else. No desktop computers, only notebooks. Not only can they charge more, but they get more business too than the business that tries to repair everything.

The reason why I brought my computer to them is because I reasoned, if they specialize in JUST notebook computers, they will be more likely to spot the problem with my notebook and be able to fix it. I wanted RESULTS, and I reasoned a specialist would be more likely to deliver it, and I was willing to pay more for the privilege.

They get a lot of business - they told me that people even come to them from interstate to get their notebook computers repaired. To me, this is an example of a successful specialization.

I see this topic tied to the concept of niche markets. While most computer repair places try to be "do everything" places, the notebook computer repair business focused on the niche market of businesses and people who have notebook computers. The problem with the Ph.D.'s in philosophy is that their niche market is too small, and there are too many people competing for the little available work there is!

However, I agree with a lot of what you say, Duane.... In reality, I like being a bit of a generalist too. How can you get the best of both worlds?

I think you can win all around if you make it so your business targets a "specialist" niche.... It doesn't mean you have to be a specialist yourself, in order for your business to be seen as a "specialist" business by its target market....

Well, those are a few more thoughts, I thought you raised some excellent points, Duane....

- Dien Rice

Specialist or Generalist?

The entrepreneur needs to be a generalist whose business specializes.

Michael Ross.