David Epstein on Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
Specialize early. Commit to a single path. That’s what many of us are told we must do to succeed in school, sports, or work. But bestselling author, acclaimed journalist, and renowned TED speaker David Epstein argues that this advice is just plain wrong—and in his book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, he lays out the evidence.
Course Description:
In this course, you’ll learn why Epstein believes generalists have a competitive advantage over those who specialize early.
First, you’ll find out why “head starts” are overrated, when switching careers is a smart idea, and how a breadth of skills and experiences uniquely prepares you for an increasingly “wicked world.”
You’ll then explore how to broaden your range to boost cognitive flexibility and analogical thinking, allowing you to solve problems across fields. Finally, you’ll discover the benefits of ditching long-term plans or old tools to pick up something new.
In this course David covers:
- The Cult of the Head Start
- Winners Quit, and Quitters Win
- It’s a Wicked World
- Develop Cognitive Flexibility
- The Power of Analogies
- Drop Your Tools
- Ditch Your Long-Term Plan
- Make Learning Difficult
- The Outsider Advantage
Brought to you in partnership with the Next Big Idea Club...
This course is brought to you with thanks to our good friends at the Next Big Idea Club a fantastic initiative that highlights the brightest new thinkers and is a treasure trove of great ideas for forward-looking executive thinkers.
Watch the video below to find out more. You will also find links to subscribe to their fantastic service as well as purchase the related book in each Next Big Idea Club course.
As a Next Big Idea Club course you can expect...
- Out of the box ideas that will drive your own internal innovation and make you a more rounded leader
- Courses developed by service leaders that have real-world expertise in the course area
- Courses selected by The Next Big Idea team who themselves are some of the world's brightest authors and thinkers.
- Thought provoking ideas that will push you beyond the limits of standard industry education
Your Course Author: David Epstein
David Epstein is the author of the #1 New York Times best seller Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, and of the New York Times best seller The Sports Gene, both of which have been translated in more than 30 languages.
His writing has been honored by an array of organizations, from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, to the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Center on Disability and Journalism, and has been included in the Best American Science and Nature Writing anthology.
His story “Following the Trail of Broken Hearts,” on sudden cardiac death in athletes, was chosen as one of the top 100 stories of the last 100 years by Columbia Journalism alumni.
David has given talks about performance science and the uses (and misuses) of data on five continents; his TED Talks have been viewed more than 12 million times.
This course includes:
- Education directly from best-selling authors
- Clear and easily digestible explanations of the critical elements of the topic
- Iterative steps to improve your knowledge quickly and easily
- Access to your course leader to clarify any areas of uncertainty
- Learn from anywhere
- Lifetime access to all materials
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