Living in the Time of the Super-Specialist

I recently came across an entrepreneur whose catchphrase is:

There’s riches in niches.

Knowing how to do one thing really really really well is the path to success and to fulfillment. In his book, So Good They Can’t Ignore You, Cal Newport talks about the benefits of committing to an industry and field and the developing a passion for the work rather than the internet supported Passion-lead path.

Last night I read about the history of building in The Checklist Manifesto:

For most of modern history…going back a medieval times, the dominant way people put up buildings was by going out and hiring Master Builders who designed them, engineered them, and oversaw construction from start no finish, portico to plumbing, Master Builders built Notre Dame, St. Peters Basilica, and the United States Capitol building. But by the middle of the twentieth century the Master Builders were dead and gone. The variety and sophistication of advancements in every stage of the construction process had overwhelmed the abilities of any individual to master them.

In the first division of labor, architectural and engineering design split off from construction. Then, piece by piece, each component became further specialized and split off, until there were architects on one side, often with their own areas of sub-specialty, and engineers on another, with their various kinds of expertise; the builders, too, fragmented into their own multiple divisions, ranging from tower crane contractors to finish carpenters. The field looked, in other words, a lot like medicine, with all its specialists and super-specialists.

It’s easy to see parallels in other industries. This idea of becoming a super-specialist is supported by the use of data collection is just about every industry. Where the data allows to make more informed decision about the specific problems in our specific industry for a specific customer. Further supporting the customization of everything.