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Depth or Width of Experience

Q: What’s the best way to quantify experience? 
A: Think about the depth and width. 

There are generalists and their are specialists; either can be better depending on what you need. 

Want to get you annual check-up and make sure you’re healthy? Visit your general family doctor. 
Have an obscure form of cancer? You want a specialist. 

Some people think they have 10 years of experience, but what they really have is 1 year of experience 10 times. 

If you’re doing the same thing everyday you have depth of experience, but you lack width.  
The oncology specialist who only treats a specific type of cancer. He’s fantastic in his field, but don’t ask him about joint pain. 

If you’re constantly doing different things you have a width of experience, but lack depth. 
The general family-practice doctor who is constantly encountering unique situations with his patients, his job requires him to know a little bit about everything. 

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”

– Bruce Lee

Bruce is referencing depth of experience. But sometimes you don’t need a scalpel, you need a Swiss-army knife; that’s width of experience. 

Actionable Question: To achieve my next level of success, do I need more depth or width of experience? 

-Andrew Nemeth