The Best Way To Develop Your Talent Stack And Learn New Skills
ADD is my superpower.
I've become a multifaceted human because of it.
My skill stack is extensive, and my interests are deep.
I take no credit.
If it were up to me, I would watch movies, stuff my face with chips and lick leftovers off my fingers.
This was my brain's fault.
It took over me like an alien invading Area 51.
If it were up to my “education” or a "normal" career, I'd be locked away somewhere crunching numbers as a CFO.
Who knows.
Throughout my career, I've become proficient at different skills that have magically connected throughout my life.
It's what Scott Adams calls a Talent Stack.
When you add my attention to detail, being able to accomplish a lot in a short period of time, business acumen, writing, risk tolerance, ability to process a lot of information, negotiation expertise, sales skills, health knowledge, stoicism practice, keen eye for optimization, marketing certifications, and humorous outlook on life, it has a unique commercial value.
My goal isn't to become the best programmer and smash the keyboard for sixteen hours a day. This limits my potential.
Being a specialist in one area is flawed. It works for some. Not for me.
I want to develop my Talent Stack. So should you.
Before you do, you have to identify the skills that will have the most significant impact.
Write down what skills you need to learn or develop.
The first step to creating your talent stack is to focus on three to five skills you need to develop.
It'll look like this:
Sales
Negotiation
Communication
Writing
Business
If you focus on them all, you’ll end up with none.
Focus on one area.
Let's say you want to develop your sales skills, but this applies to anything.
Narrow your skill down to three learning areas.
Before you jump in and start writing down all the things you need to learn in sales, take a step back for a moment.
What are the three things in sales, or any skill, that will have the highest proportion of value?
Meaning, if you learned these three things, they would create 80% of the results needed for this skill.
In sales, this might be:
Communication. Both written and spoken.
Prospecting.
Differentiating yourself and your company.
Once you've identified the three learning blocks, you'll focus on one and become proficient in it.
You'll decide what books and articles to read, which videos to watch, you'll take a course, get feedback, and begin to teach what you've learned.
If you want to develop your skills, hire a coach. There's no better way.
