Why generalists will win in the AI era

Author

Stefan Wirth
April 06, 2025

Hi Mate 👋,

Specialists are dying, long live the T-shaped maker.

Why?

Because in a world where AI handles the deep dives, humans who can connect domains are in the driver's seat.

What's new

This week I've been diving into "Range" by David Epstein, a book that's been sitting on my shelf for ages. Turns out, it validates my own winding career path in a way I never expected.

Looking back, my journey from app developer to backend specialist to product manager to founder makes perfect sense. Each role added a new perspective, a new tool to my toolkit.

I used to worry that I wasn't specializing enough. That I was falling behind peers who went deep into one technology stack or domain.

But what seemed like career ADHD was actually building my superpower: the ability to connect dots across domains that specialists can't even see.

The book calls this "lateral thinking with withered technology" - taking existing tools and applying them in novel ways. Sound familiar? It's exactly what we're doing with AI at Niche Mates.

Insight

The specialist vs. generalist debate misses the point. The future belongs to T-shaped people: deep in one area, broad across many.

In the AI era, this becomes even more critical.

AI handles the "frog tasks" (diving deep into specialized knowledge). Humans provide the "bird perspective" (vision, direction, and connections).

This is why my seemingly scattered background has become an advantage. I've worked across app development, backend, frontend, embedded systems, product, and design. Within the broader domain of building digital products, I've developed range.

The most valuable innovations happen at the interfaces between domains. The people who can mine these seams rather than just the centers will win.

Winners quit fast and often - but they quit the wrong things. They iterate towards their ideal path rather than stubbornly persisting. They optimize for match quality between their abilities and their work.

Becoming a Learning Machine

Rating: 4.5/5 (Range provides a framework that explains why my learning approach works)

From Range: "The more information specialists create, the more opportunity exists for curious dilettantes to contribute by merging strands of widely available but disparate information."

This explains why my habit of reading 1–4 hours daily across diverse topics isn't just interesting - it's strategic. Each book adds another perspective, another potential connection that specialists miss.

I've always been drawn to ideas at the intersection of fields. Now I understand why: that's where the undiscovered public knowledge lives. That's where the breakthroughs happen.

My next video

I haven’t had much time to make videos, (I’ve built 3 new products in the last 2 weeks) but I still want to keep this going.

So to make sure i deliver value, what would you like me to talk about in the next video?

Talk Soon,
Stefan