Choosing to be a ‘Jack of All Trades’ | Dr. Jonathan Griffiths | TEDxNantwich

[@Cubestone]

I just saw this video, 7 years after publication. It's still relevant. I "retired" from a career as a "jack-of-all-trades" in a world class national laboratory. I was surrounded by PhD specialists. These guys could analyze the molecular structures of their creations and further improve energy efficiencies to fight climate change. They were completely dead in the water without someone to service and repair the laboratory and it's equipment. Who do you think was valued the most and received all of the accolades? One manager tried to tell my crew that we were "dime-a-dozen". No, you can find thousands of specialized tradesmen. I remember teaching a fire panel specialist how to tell which way a centrifugal pump is supposed to rotate. The examples are endless. I said I was "retired". That's only from my paychecks. My friends and associates frequently come to me for help and guidance, which I'm glad to give.

[@georgiapeaches4864]

You can Master something and still be a jack-of-all-trades. Specializing only in one thing is a type of Obsession and gives you only one thing to stand for. You can Master many things and move on to the next that's why it is considered being a jack-of-all-trades.

[@NeilLewis99]

A really interesting idea - since economist John Smith we've not only been celebrating the specialists but increasingly paying them a lot more than generalists - yet, it takes a generalist or jack of all trades - to make connections across disciplines and stimulate innovation. Perhaps an explanation for why there is so little innovation?

[@jonathangriffiths9436]

Thanks Neil. It's an interesting question. I a man concerned that many generalists think poorly of themselves, when in fact they should be celebrated!

[@jonathangriffiths9436]

I also agree with you about innovation and creativity. Generalists are able to make those connections between disciplines that I would suggest are essential for creative minds and new ways of thinking.

[@NeilLewis99]

Jonathan Griffiths indeed - our Adam Smith economy is predicated on specialism and therefore we pay specialists more than generalists - so generalist have good reason to feel second class

[@ieast007]

I work in IT and I totally agree. I'm something of a "Bard" in the field yet I know a lot more than so called specialists in Networking, Security, Windows, Linux, etc...

[@LordBrittish]

D&D players get the Bard reference.

[@NotARussianDisinfoBot]

That's wonderful. That's currently where I find myself and what I'm working towards.

[@louisegejl]

Thank you for this topic, I am the Jack of all trades, always the second, the one connecting dots, and seing the world in a larger perspective... thank you for seeing people like me.

[@irasingh996]

Uss moment fr~

[@Andre-zi1gb]

that last part really hit hard

[@wongkohping4944]

TT______TT

[@bustinacupp7440]

Absolutely beautiful. I don't so forgotten anymore.

[@tuxmode]

In web technology jobs, these guys are the Full-Stack.

[@heningpda7458]

damn this's truee :D ,. one man company

[@clementechs]

At the same time when you are software engineer 😂😂😂

[@samul1997]

The beginning story reminds me of a ’quote’ or more of an psychological observation by Charlie Munger ’To a man with a hammer every problem looks like a nail’ and he labels it as huge decision making misjudgement in our life

[@darrenfry]

A great story, passionately told! For me the argument of 'broad & shallow' (generalist) vs 'deep & narrow' (specialist) is highly dependent upon the interaction between specialist, generalist and the third party (in this case, the patient). Knowing each others role intimately enables and facilitates a more efficient and productive outcome for the third party. As for the disparity, there simply should not be any! I think this is borne from a number of factors, too numerous to mention but i know that in the world in which i operate, the cost to replace a specialist is greater and therefore they are more revered. I am speaking generally though, of course! :-)

[@jonathangriffiths9436]

HI Darren, Thanks for viewing and commenting. You make a good point about the need to understand each other's roles. This is crucial in my job as a GP where I am referring on and hopefully getting the right specialist to see the individual - this can be a real skill in itself. It also works the other way round too - specialists need to know what they can safely refer back to the generalist, and what needs referring 'sideways' to a different specialist! Thanks again! Jon

[@chemistrykaren]

I've been arguing similar (though not so publicly nor so fully) since the 1980s. I'd finished my degree in the US, where higher education is more 'generalist' than in the UK. I returned to the UK and immediately felt my education to be 'inferior' ... As for GPs, I think patients do value them (you); but sadly, much of the medical establishment does not value patients' views. We are trying to change that. Thanks for this talk.

[@jonathangriffiths9436]

Thanks so much for watching and for the comments. I'm glad it resonated with you. Interesting comparison with USA, I wasn't really aware of that particular difference. Thanks again. Jonathan

[@christopherdukett4158]

Dr. House would, in my opinion, be a great example of a generalist highlighted in tv

[@Noyraland369]

Thank you.💕💕 wish success to everyone reading this💕💕

[@brianne8258]

This is why I didn't go to medical school. I was told, "I didn't have enough drive to get through medical school, if all I wanted to be was a GP"

[@jervisarivozli9300]

last part gives goosebumps

[@bunssohawt4531]

Oh no the last part of the two people:(

[@troublemetonight]

Hi this is an interesting talk and well presented. However, I think there was one part of the story that was flawed - you said Carl saw a GP who diagnosed a slow heart rate then was sent into hospital by the GP to see a specialist - based on that, it sounds like the GP had also initially missed the diagnosis of a traumatic brain haemorrhage. Moreover, the GP’s expectation was for the cardiologist to be a generalist and to have picked it up, which in most cases they usually do, but don’t get me wrong, in this case it should have absolutely been picked up earlier. As a medical doctor myself, I do appreciate your view points about a “Generalist” but the approach, whilst I’m sure it was not intentional and was more to give a sense of empowerment, felt a little bit divisive. I think the best doctors are those that work together in a team and respect each other’s roles, may it be a specialist or a generalist.

[@cellyszn20]

TTThorn it doesn’t fall apart because a slow heart rate does need a higher level doctor to further examine not necessarily the GP. Who then makes the judgement call

[@DHSplate]

GPs should be called family physicians instead and should be on the same GMC register together with the specialist.

[@erikalucas1424]

Excellent!!

[@vivekdoshi6639]

I have a simple observation. Tedx invites Generalist, and Ted invites Specialized (Most 0f)

[@abhishekkakkar105]

Ridiculous observation

[@TheMarshmellowLife]

The story at the beginning ends at a weird spot. Especially considering the kind of brain bleed that takes 4 weeks to show up and start killing you is the kind of thing that takes 4 weeks to show up and even start presenting symptoms. It's not uncommon for older folks who fall to get these. But you just don't go around scanning every old person's head for fun, one, because of the radiation risk associated with the imaging, and two, you're almost always going to find something that looks abnormal if you run enough tests. It's actually a very important thing to not run all of the tests because you'll end up treating things that are completely benign and possibly making the patient worse off with the treatment. If he was presenting with a really slow heart rate and a normal blood pressure, the next course of action is to take an EKG to see what's going on with his heart. They found what seems like it was a complete heart block or an idioventricular rhythm. Those are the kinds of things that you would treat with a pacemaker that presents with bradycardia. He didn't come in with a fall, so why would you scan his head? This is coming from a necessarily medical generalist as a paramedic. Now there is some stigma against old folks that it's just their time to decline, and I'm definitely not saying that's a good thing. But some folks you can run every test on and still come up to hand it. Plus this patient seems like he'd be the kind of person who would refuse most treatments because he was proud to be living in his own home up until this happened. I don't know all the presentations that he was having, but he could have been recovering from the procedure and then just start falling under the 'slower to recover because of old age' category. At around 4 weeks I would definitely be getting concerned that there's something else either he is failing because he doesn't want to live anymore, which is a valid option for a lot of older folks, or there's something else going on. I agree with the generalizing of people rather than specializing, but that story is a bit disingenuous to the point

[@TheGavranatar]

I don't think you've paid attention to the reason he was admitted, and you've not watched the whole video. At 1:25 he clearly mentions a history of falls. Bradycardia can be a sign of increased ICP from a significant bleed (Cushing's triad), clearly whatever the cardiologists treated didn't help the man and at the end he did mention he had neurosurgery, so I don't believe this story is at all disingenuous. A geriatrician or GP may have picked up on the bleed earlier and given him a better outcome. Carl was actually the man's grandad if you stuck with it to the end.

[@pablogabino7600]

Que maravilloso

[@headwyvern11]

The doctor assigned to me by medicare specializes in medical administration... She's my GP, and she's on the board at the clinic. sigh

[@TheAsifmalik1]

Specialists know “more and more of less and less”…

[@archiedpatterson1292]

I didn't choose to be a polymath it choose me

[@mustaphasossialaoui7809]

We would'nt be here in this earth, if God was'nt Generalist

[@jamiemurphy8287]

Didn't the generalist also miss the brain bleed at beginning?

[@wongkohping4944]

TT______TT Gramma Marjorie and Grandpa Carl

[@lainecolley1414]

That's why specialty is called dogma.

[@gerry._.y]

keep him silent pls, he's spoiling the secret. more specialist means cheaper workforce for the generalist leader

[@fubufb420]

I'd rather be special for what I can do, not for what I KNOW.... Knowledge is NOT power! Knowledge is Wisdom....😂