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