In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- Actionable steps that give your business direction
- The value of becoming a T-shaped marketer
- How to decide whether to scale your business
From Specialist to Generalist
Mario has been in tech his whole life. Starting as a software engineer then moving into his role as a CEO, he knows firsthand what it’s like to work with junior to senior-level employees.
In order to be a successful leader, you need to learn as much as possible about other areas. In order to step up you need to move back to generalization.
Mario believes in the value of being a jack of all trades, to an extent. He says the ideal journey for an employee is to go from generalist to specialist — and back to generalist. He calls this process T-shaped marketing.
The reason: In order to be a successful specialist, you need to understand skills or practices that surround your specialty.
“Most digital skills out there nowadays require an understanding of the underlying field.”
If you just focus on one little thing, you won’t be as successful as your competitors. But Mario stresses that it’s essential to become a specialist first.
“You still need to specialize in one or two things, . . . but you definitely need to level-up in any other area that’s tangible in any way to what you do for a living.”
Know When to Scale And Why
Mario says the most important thing a business owner who is achieving initial success can ask is: Do I need scaling?
If so, why?
Being able to answer this question well will determine the direction of your business. For example, whether you need to hire more people, break up your business into multiple smaller businesses, or develop a system that maintains your current bandwidth without producing too much strain.
“Essentially, thinking of what vision makes the most sense for you is important.”
Mario recommends hiring people in proportion to how quickly you want work to get done. He reminds the listener to be aware that every move you make in your business will leave its mark.
“With every step, with every hire, with every transition, every deal, essentially you are strengthening the culture core and the strategy that you’re shaping for your company.”
Take Time For Assessment
Mario wants the listener to make sure to do one thing: take time regularly to revise your strategy and business plan. Set concrete priorities. Make regular milestones you can follow.
“Otherwise what’s going to happen is the death of a New Year’s resolution: You probably have some ideas, but those ideas aren’t really broken down into something actionable.”
Make sure there are repercussions if you don’t follow through with your goal. Check your progress on a consistent basis and hold yourself accountable. If you do, you can’t go wrong.
