Doing Everyone Else's Job Is the Secret to Getting Things Done
Yosef K. argues that the most effective employees are those who step in to do work that others are supposed to do but won't. Drawing on Intel's early support for its 32-bit CPU in Microsoft's compiler, he shows how doing someone else's job can benefit both parties. He also warns against two tempting but harmful variants: building in-house instead of buying, and letting every department roll its own solution instead of centralizing.
I believe that not only do 20% of the people do 80% of the work, but that all this work only achieves its ultimate goals thanks to the <5% of the people who do stuff that someone else is supposed to do, but won't, for reasons which are perfectly legitimate in the organization's view of reality, even though the cumulative effect of such legitimate reasons is the certain death of the whole place.
- exmadscientist
The other powerful thing about being able to do everyone else's job is that you, personally, gain a lot of leverage, and in a lot of different ways. Someone else needs a favor? You probably know how to deliver. Something's on fire? You probably know what to do next, or at least who to call, no matter what's on fire today. Someone isn't budging on something? You might not have any bigger of a lever than anyone else, but you probably know exactly where to position yours, and exactly what it'll do when you apply a bit of force.
It's useful.
And then there's times like getting to charge your client $300/hour to drop stuff off at FedEx. Because you can do that and you're here and you'll get it done right -- no one needs to explain the idiosyncracies of this particular deadline or package contents; you've got it.
Even if that's not normally a senior consultant's job.
- saqued
As long as you keep getting the performance review brownie points, because if you don't you are out and it doesn't matter.
- perelin
I do enjoy learning new things and having a generalist approach. But its not for everyone.