The Neo-Generalist: Where you go is who you are Paperback – April 11, 2019

If you are interested in everything to the point people tell you you are dilettante, if your friends and kids never understand what your job is, if you ever had to minimize the extent of your skills and knowledge to fit in an organizational chart, if your time at school felt like sitting on a giant conveyor belt taking you to a career you didn't want, if your interest in emerging culture resulted in people cataloguing you as immature, if your intuitions have been proven right again and again yet you still struggle to get others to listen to your hunches, if you think that life is a giant invitation to be curious and learn new things, if you feed off new experiences and unexpected encounters, if you can move between different worlds and cultures, if you enjoy exploring contradictory points of views and hear what those on the other side of the fence think, if you are as comfortable being the student and the teacher, the connector and the connected, the listener and the speaker, if you collect ideas to remix them, augment them, and put them in motion, if for you either/or has been replaced by both/and, if your expertise is a process and a network, if you see connections where others see none, if you dare, care and share, if your identity is constantly in flux, deconstructed and reconstructed with each endeavor, if you have ever struggled with the world's lack of understanding and appreciation for the skills of someone that can't be easily labelled and strives with manipulating intangibles and unmeasurables like attention, knowledge, relationships and identities, if you ever felt your vision was too futuristic for mindsets stuck in the past, then you are probably a Neo-Generalist, and this book might be a home coming for you. Because you will see that you are not alone. That your talents and skills are actually incredibly indispensable for the world we are living in, and the one that's coming.

The world is changing. And work is changing. We all know that. People talk a lot about jobs. What is the future of work? In a world of increasing hyper-specialization, we need a new kind of worker. Not a specialist -- we have plenty of those -- and not a generalist -- a jack-of-all-trades, and master of none -- but a hybrid. A neo-generalist.We need people who do have deep expertise in one or more areas, but who can also connect disciplines and see across the divisions that specialization creates. Neo-generalist.I applaud this book for naming an important new area we should all take into account. It has many implications for education, training, recruiting and beyond.

This is for those who find it hard to label themselves—and it is hard for others to label them. Which is tough in this specialism-oriented environment. It was great to see how others with neo-generalist tendencies have contributed in the world.

A brilliant piece and with lots of stories to underline the message of the neo-generalist. It took me up in perspective, and gave me a boost. I found a belonging, and will focus even more on *bildung* - both personally and with my clients.

I was very disappointed with the book. I understand what the authors were trying to do but I bought the hard copy and it was just too hard to follow. I think the authors are oversold on their own intellectual chops, making inferences that aren't supported by the prevailing reality. And the folks they chose to highlight and illustrate their points ewren't partculalrly aligned with my own experince, ambitions. etc. Disappointed.

I still have some chapters to read! Good lessons in human nature. Very different concept of brillant people! Love what I've read so far!

I recommend reading The Neo-Generalist if you are interested in thinking about your life and work through a new lens. The authors offer a different perspective on the apparently opposing concepts of "specialist" and "generalist", and define the Neo-Generalist as someone who is both, switching between the two as required. There are numerous stories in the book, based on the many interviews the authors conducted around the world, showing real life examples of people they consider to be Neo Generalists.This book does not give you a solution, nor a method. That's what makes it interesting reading. My recommendation is that you read the first chapter—Generalise to Specialise—to understand the authors' concept. Then the second—The Infinite Loop—to deepen your understanding of how specialism and generalism interrelate. After that, take a look at how the authors use the infinite loop to tell their own life stories (pages 69 and 82). When I reached that point in the book, I decided to sketch the various turning points in my own life on the infinite loop concept. That exercise triggered a lot of reflection on my part, and isn't finished yet.I am now reading different parts of the book in random order and finding them all thought-provoking. A valuable part of this work is the extensive bibliography at the end, where the authors quote Austin Kleon, author of Steal Like an Artist, "It's not the book you start with, it's the book that book leads you to", and Umberto Eco, author of The Name of the Rose, "Now I realized that not infrequently books speak of books: it is as if they spoke among themselves."The authors of The Neo Generalist say their book is an "invitation to conversation, a call for constructive dialogue" and it certainly fulfills that objective.

I tried. Read through this book and kept hoping that it would change from the standard story of using excessive anecdotes and quotes to make some point.

I found myself laughing a lot as I read this book. Not only do I know several people in it, having somebody give me an account of who I am and what excites me, and that it’s not just me, is a gift.I suspect that, like many of us, I spent a long time trying to overcome something I was told was a weakness, until I eventually recognise used it for the strength it is. I have a hope that this book will help others recognise the same in themselves earlier than I did, and enjoy the life it lends for longer.This is not just a book, it is a public service.

Only a sistemic vision will save us, will save humanity. So if you are will be a neogeneralist, you can see the way for humanistic salvation. This book will show you how. And why. Read it!

I have always felt that I don't fit in anywhere, and now I know why.It is OK to be different the world needs diversity.

Highly recommended! A single book was transformed into a great personal journey!In my world, "context always outweighs personal preference"!

Haben sie Schwierigkeiten anderen Menschen zu beschreiben was genau sie tun? Haben sie sich selbst bekannte Label gegeben, um verstanden zu werden? Wie Leben sie ihr Leben, wenn sie in mehreren Welten zu Hause sind? Wenn sie diese Fragen für sich mit ja beantworten ist die Chance groß, dass sie zu den Neo Generalisten zählen, wie sie Kenneth Mikkelsen und Richard Martin in ihrem gemeinsamen Buch beschreiben. Neo Genralisten sind für sie Menschen, die sowohl Spezialisten als auch Generalisten sind. Es gibt kein entweder/oder sondern sie beschreiben es als ein Kontinuum, als ein Spektrum von Möglichkeiten. Wo wir zu einem gegebenen Moment stehen ergibt sich aus dem Kontext.Unsere gesamte Ausbildung aber auch unser Berufsleben ist geprägt von einem sehr starken Tendenz zum Spezialistentum. In unseren Lebensläufen geben wir uns Labels, um uns in bekannte Kategorien einzuordnen. Aber werden wir damit unseren Fähigkeiten und Erfahrungen gerecht? Ihrer Meinung nach unterstützt dieses Spezialistentum auch gerade das so stark kritisierte Arbeiten in Silos.Neo Generalisten sind für sie Menschen, die sich in unterschiedlichen Domänen sicher bewegen können, die nicht aufhören zu lernen, die in der Lage sind Brücken zwischen unterschiedlichen Bereichen und Menschen zu bauen.Gerade in der heutigen, zunehmend komplexeren Welt werden diese Fähigkeiten zunehmend benötigt. Nicht das Spezialwissen sondern der offene Umgang mit Veränderungen, die Fähigkeit zur Zusammenarbeit und auch die Fähigkeit Information basierend auf breiten Erfahrungen kritisch einzuordnen und zu bewerten sind die wichtigen Fähigkeiten.Das Buch gibt einen breiten theoretischen Einstieg in die Thematik. Der größere Teil des Buches basiert auf zahlreichen Interviews, die von den Autoren geführt wurden und die die Bandbreite von Neo Generalisten aufzeigen. Für alle Interessierten haben die Autoren eine umfangreiche Sammlung an weiterführender Literatur aufgeführt. Ein Paradies für Neo Generalisten.