During our careers, many of us are faced with what’s essentially a choice between being a specialist or generalist. For senior marketing people seeking progression, a junction inevitably appears – either move to general management (perhaps via an initial sideways move) or a search for a bigger functional role outside the current employer. |
More effective problem solving
Happy today or perform tomorrow?
Coping with ambiguity
Being more innovative
Cognitive diversity
In his concluding chapter, Epstein cites one of the motivations for writing the book – to act an antidote to what he calls the abundance of life “hacks” in the popular media. Hacks are simple one-size-fits-all recipes for success which he argues are hugely appealing because they promise a tidy prescription that’s “low on uncertainty” and “high on efficiency”.