Talent Stacking 26
Can it really be twelve months since this..?!
Jason Figg
Long long ago as cubrep, I was in a big powwow about the direction of the sales outfit I was part of. It seemed sludgey going, whilst coming close to what I viewed as getting stuck in dangerous middle ground. So with the exuberance of youth I asked, 'do we want specialists or generalists?' Opinions split horribly.
Whereas total subject depth can be applauded, it feels fair to say that the pendulum has lately swung visibly in favour of those with sufficient skilled breadth.
Perhaps 2019 bestseller instructional, Range, with its unmissable subtitle of Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, solidified this movement. Maybe the (unprecedented?) pace of change this past decade has wrought on working practices, tech and lifestyle. Then there's the highly influential 'internet dad' Scott Adams' push for talent stacking.
These all combine no doubt. After all, even Nobel Prize winning scientists are more likely to receive honours for groundbreaking work when they also hold interest in at least one other pursuit outside of their core subject, often an art by the way.
Wondering this can apply intra- as well as inter-disciplines? Sales itself let's remember, covers a vast, wide and turbulent scope of activities. Even better should you gain the vaunted top decile of know-how in each of a few of these, complemented by a contrasting endeavour outside of it.
I thought on this as I looked back on the year past. As the irony is, no Sales leader wants to hire a generalist. Hamstrung by the everyday definition and are seldom aware of the modern day term as it applies to a broader excellence. They seek to act when there is a highly specific issue at hand. Yet after working through such with them, it becomes clear help in all manner of niches within our Sales purview is desired. And very few people can make things happen across the board as they require.
Because true generalists that actually know their stuff do not abound. It is not enough to have been a senior exec in a Sales organisation. Many can pull the strings, yet not realise which strings to pull nor how to set said string up to max affect.
Some of my most enjoyable '25 projects began relatively small then asked for bigger ripples. I've been with BDM teams drowning in a sea of misplaced aims and micromanagement desperate to break free. Helped change the culture of a 'site-seller' corporate overview led presentation style to a way better 'discovery' workshop collaborative approach. And not forgetting what was at first a simple way to use AI for writing snappy sales letters next seed methods for genuinely saving admin time whilst hammering home the pitching uniques with prospects, also leading to a necessarily wholesale realignment of why they won deals.
Here's to propelling more of the same for visionary salespeople in 26.
One final observation comes from cold calling. I'll often approach companies that don't know me and ask (not in these words) whether they've a new product in the works for which a touch of selling help might be an idea.
I can't tell you the number of the gatekeeping class that respond, 'oh we've a marketing team for that'. There are many that need me more than they know and I can't wait to change more of your lives.