The Generalist Value Pyramid

I had a great chat with the super-smart Robin Bonn in which we talked a little about the challenges of being a generalist type of consultant, and the idea of ‘becoming the only’. This is, to remind you, Kevin Kelly’s idea around becoming a true reflection of what only you can do, in your unique way.

Robin has a lovely way of framing this (he specialises in helping agencies define what they’re good at and to get better at growing their business) which is to create a ‘market of one’. His insight is that the agency market is not as over-supplied as many people think it is, but instead it is under-differentiated (perhaps like the consultant market). He has a helpful way of distilling the difference between positioning (the space in which you operate) and proposition (what you offer and what you do) which I like.

Robin also mentioned Charles Davies’ model for ‘Very Clear Ideas’ which is a great way of reaching clarity on how good a concept is. His seven questions enables anyone to interrogate an idea from slightly different angles – instead of asking ‘is this a good idea?’, you ask:

Is this what I live for?
Is this what I dream of?
Is this what I wish for?
Is this what I love?
Is this what I demand?
Is this what I want?
Is this what I need?

If you answered ‘no’ to any of those questions then the idea isn’t clear enough, and you can gain more clarity by flipping the questions and starting with ‘what’ (‘what do I live for?’, What do I dream of?’ etc).

Reflecting on this conversation I was reminded of how being a generalist can be a real strength, particularly when you have a clear idea of how to articulate those strengths. One angle that I really like for this is Milly Tamati’s concept of the Generalist Value Pyramid, which she talks through in this short video.

What I like about this is that it goes beyond framing your value as a generalist in terms of a broad base of expertise, and takes it into softer skills areas such as the ability of generalists to spot patterns, see the big picture, and apply high levels of empathy and emotional intelligence to solving problems. This seems to me to echo what I was saying before about how it’s often the intersections between different areas of practice that enable you to spot new patterns and connections that are useful in client work. But it’s also useful in framing how you can bring value to clients through being a generalist.

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