On T-shaped people.

One of the prevailing topics of conversation at this year's Making Digital Work 4 conference at Boulder Digital Works was the notion of T-shaped people.

It's something that was coined by Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, in an article of Fast Company way back in 2005. It's a fascinating concept. Here's a snippet:

"We look for people who are so inquisitive about the world that they're willing to try to do what you do. We call them "T-shaped people." They have a principal skill that describes the vertical leg of the T -- they're mechanical engineers or industrial designers. But they are so empathetic that they can branch out into other skills, such as anthropology, and do them as well. They are able to explore insights from many different perspectives and recognize patterns of behavior that point to a universal human need. That's what you're after at this point -- patterns that yield ideas."

In other words, have a deep understanding of and experience with something. Be really, really, really great at it. But don't stop there. You have to branch out. Push the boundaries of what you know to the left and to the right.

When I got into the ad business nearly 20 years ago, I was a copywriter. That was it. My job was to write copy. Sure, I worked in different media, but always as a copywriter. After a while, however, my natural curiosity led me to taking some design classes. And learning how to edit video. And doing voiceovers and on-camera acting. And taking photography classes. And diving headlong into social media. And taking a stab at UX for a friend's startup's web site. And...

I'm still a copywriter. It's what I know best and what I have the most experience with. That's the vertical leg of my T. But every day I try to push the ends of the top of my T out a little further. Get a little better at something out there. Or learn something new.

I'm sure you know your specialty. Your vertical.

But what makes the top of your T? How wide is it? And are you pushing it further?

I'll leave you with the words of Robert Heinlein regarding specialization:

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."