Sometime in the late 90's, I was watching an interview on NBA Inside Stuff of a young man who, a few years prior, had made the jump from high school to the NBA. That may be common these days with several high schoolers being drafted every year, but at that time it was still a fairly rare occurrence . This individual was the focus of attention because he was exceeding expectations. No one predicted the level of success he had achieved in such a short period of time. That player was Tracey McGrady aka T-Mac.
As a basketball fan, the interview was interesting, however, it was his response to one question in particular that has remained with me all of these years. When queried about what surprised him most during his time in "The League", he said initially upon arriving in training camp, he was under the impression that everyone in the NBA could "do everything", i.e. that each player was adept at all the skills required to play the game. Yet, in reality that was not the case; some players did not dribble well, others did not pass well, others were poor shooters, etc., and his shock was due to the fact that these were the best basketball players in the world.
His observation stayed with me, because I've come to realize that it also holds true regarding the software industry and business in general. Conceptually, if one substitutes a software development/consulting company for a NBA team, IT professionals for basketball players, Silicon Valley for "The League", and industry knowledge and skills, for basketball knowledge and skills, T-Mac's observation remains valid.
Specialization can be seen in both the NBA and the software industry. Phil Jackson, an average player throughout his career, is arguably the best coach, or "idea" guy of his time. His Silicon Valley counterpart would be Steve Jobs, in my opinion, who's probably never written a line of code in his life. Michael Jordan excelled as a player, but has had marginal success in the front office. His computer/software engineering counterpart, i.e. "arguably the G.O.A.T (greatest of all time)", I see as Steve Wozniak since he designed and developed both the hardware and software for Apple's first computer. Yet, I doubt his name would appear on anyone's list of great executives.
All-in-all, specialization appears to be the way things work best in a team environment.You don't want Shaquille O'Neal playing point guard, or Nate Robinson, the shortest man in the NBA, playing center on your basketball team. Apple probably wouldn't have been as successful with Steve Jobs designing and developing the company's hardware and software, and Mr. Wozniak handling the business side of things. One should always play to his or her strengths. Rest assured, if you excel at at-least one critical skill, and have the desire, you'll make it to the top of your chosen profession. But, one should never rest on their laurels, and one should always seek to improve in other areas.
