What is the difference between specialization and diversity?

When we think of tennis, the first name that comes to our minds is Roger Federer. This is true despite the fact that tennis is not one of the most popular sports in our country. On the other hand, even tennis enthusiasts are typically unaware of the story that led to Federer's phenomenal success.

Given that Mozart was a musical prodigy and had been playing the piano since he was four years old, you could have assumed that Federer began practicing with his mother, who was his tennis coach, as soon as he was able to walk.

In reality, Federer participated in a wide variety of sports before settling on tennis; yet, he made his decision to focus on tennis when he was still in his early teenage years.

So, did all of the sports that Federer participated in up until the point where he decided to focus on tennis prove to be in vain? The fact that he spent thousands of hours participating in a variety of sports raises the question of how his achievement in tennis was ever possible.

In order to provide answers to these problems, David Epstein, in his book titled Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialised World, discusses the example of Roger Federer.

To add insult to injury, he emphasises that the numerous challenges that Federer has faced may be the primary reason for his success.

Following the TED talk that David Epstein gave in which he summarised his book, I gained the knowledge that it is not necessary to select a field of interest at an early stage and then proceed down a predetermined path in that direction in order to achieve success.

Furthermore, I began to believe that it is quite common to turn to new talents and interests without feeling as though it is too late to do so. In addition, this appears to be extremely valid with regard to the directions of one's profession.

Despite the fact that we treat people who believe they made the wrong choice at university and started from scratch in a completely new profession as heroes, this is something that needs to start becoming the norm.

What are some ways that you believe this kind of thinking is mirrored in the corporate world? The unfortunate reality is that new businesses in the business sector tend to follow the lead of Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. While Mark Zuckerberg was only 22 years old, he established Facebook.

Nevertheless, a study conducted in the United States of America found that Zuckerberg is an extreme example. When we look at the start-ups that are expanding at the fastest rate, we find that the average age of the founders is 45 years old. Certain skills and beliefs require certain conditions to be met.

The knowledge that we have acquired from the experience that we have received in a variety of sectors in the past can be of great use to us in a new field of study that we are currently beginning to explore.

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