The fact that Range changed Malcolm Gladwell’s mind, or at least his perspective on his “10,000” hours rule is telling – not only about the cogency of his arguments against over-specialization, but also about Gladwell’s openness to have his mind changed. I had lots of Ah Ha! moments in reading this book, as Epstein pointed out trends and phenomena that I had observed with implications that I had never considered. My Impressions: One of the most interesting and insightful leadership, self-development books I’ve read in recent memory. He also provides insights from this theme against specializing early – he recommends playing the field and trying several possibilities before deciding on a life’s profession. Epstein doesn’t dismiss specialists, but insists that specialists need to get out of their specialty for at least two reasons: First, to best apply their specialist knowledge to the broader world, and second, to learn from the broader world lessons that may apply to their area of specialty. Summary in 3 Sentences: SO many big ideas in this book, but the main point is that in order to make the best decisions in any context, one needs a broad range of experience, including experience OUTSIDE the specific problem area one is considering. After Jay recommended it, I realized the NBI club had already sent me a copy – a sufficient confluence of events (synchronicity) to get me started. Why this Book: Strongly recommended by my friend Jay Hennessey and also a selection by the Next Big Idea Club to which I belong.

Book about generalists