Uncertainty “in the environment”, how to become a compound talent.
Editor’s note: This article is from the micro-channel public number “Wang Zhiyuan” (ID: Z201440), Author: Wang Zhiyuan.
In the early 1980s, a large number of intellectuals, government officials, and state-owned enterprise personnel went to the sea to “business” became a boom. In the 1990s, the rise of the PC Internet enabled some people to tap the dividends of the times.
Every time there are many opportunities for people. Times are changing and dividends are iterating, but whenever people want to pursue their own careers, they always have to take the “one-way street”. “, Choose A or B, and go all the way.
Under traditional social conditions, people will engage in a profession and always retire. With the explosion of smartphones and people entering the mobile Internet, time seems to have changed.
Now that the Internet has changed food, clothing, housing, and transportation, it has also lowered the barriers to employment for many people. It gives people the opportunity to try new careers, but at the same time it has also intensified competition for talents.
Internet celebrities with cargo anchors, graphic texts from the media, UP bloggers, web writers, Didi drivers, Ele.me riders, more and more people now choose A as a career while also being able to work part-time B Occupation.
Being a π-shaped talent who “walks on two legs and has multiple abilities” is the core of survival and building barriers in this era.
π-type talents are also called “complex talents”. They are fully equipped with the four core characteristics of “complexity, development, innovation, and competitiveness”, which are the standards for talents in the 21st century.
From the perspective of the enterprise, the core of the company’s development lies in “reducing costs and improving efficiency”. Only by establishing synergy can promote high-quality operation, and in the process, the talent capability model will be required to constantly change.
Not only must be deep in this position, but also the overall thinking of seeing the mountains horizontally, and at the same time, “everything I do” must be integrated and spread out to bring value to the company. How to become a π-type talent, You may need knowledge of the concept and “transferable growth”.
01. The appearance of structural holes.
Before becoming π-type talents, we first understand what a “T-type” is. T-type talents are distinguished according to the knowledge structure, and the letter T is used to represent the point of human knowledge structure.
“One” horizontally represents extensive knowledge, and “” represents professional depth.
The combination of the two has both deep professional knowledge and extensive knowledge. This type of talent who combines deep and knowledge is called T-shapedTalent.
Why does the market change from dedicated talents to T-shaped talents? Its essence stems from the development of different stages of society and changes in the needs of occupations.
It is mainly divided into four core stages:
As early as the 1.0 era, everyone went to the sea to do business and start a traditional business. Everything is opening up the “supply and supply-demand” relationship. You can learn a skill. To survive, such as “accounting certificate, engineer certificate”, this is a professional talent.
To the 2.0 era is also the so-called late 1980s and early 1990s. At this time, economic development gradually diversified, and familiar technical schools appeared, such as “Lanxiang, New Oriental”, etc., The society inputs skilled talents.
In the early days of the PC Internet in the 3.0 era, the talent market began to grow day by day, and many people began to study in a certain field in a variety of majors, and formed one specialization and multiple specializations on the basis of “wide knowledge and deep specialization”. Yes, to build their own barriers.
In the current 4.0 era, a person must work in at least two fields and possess two two-way skills at the same time. For example, marketing and design positions in the Internet industry are separate. If a designer understands marketing , And understand brand design, then it has a huge competitive advantage in the industry.
The core of the constant changes in the talent competition landscape is the evolution of the “Internet” accelerating the advancement of digitalization.
From the second half of the mobile Internet inventory to the opening of the Internet of Everything, the essence is that the pattern of the leading companies (Baidu, Ali, Tencent, Byte) has changed the “transaction pattern” and “social network”, and a kind of Mesh link model, “structure hole”.
What is a structural hole?
The proponent of this theory was the sociologist Ronald Burt in 1992 “Structural Hole: The Social Structure of Competition”.
refers to “a phenomenon in which one or some individuals in a social network are in direct contact with some individuals, but does not have direct contact with other individuals, cannot be connected or disconnected. From the perspective of the network as a whole, it looks like a “network structure” “Caves” appeared in .
In short:
The network has a “link structure”. In the network, both economic agents B and C are connected with A. If there is no more direct connection between B and C, the connection must be formed through the actor A, then A It occupies a structural hole in the interpersonal network.
Obviously, the more structural holes in the interpersonal network, the higher the position of A in the interpersonal network, and the stronger its ability to mobilize interpersonal relationships to serve itself, so economic people will try their best to develop structural holes in their own interpersonal networks.
So, from the perspective of talent competition barriers, what can tell us the most simple and profound truth through structural holes?
One:
In the so-called Internet era, you are deeply professional in important positions in the company, broadened in knowledge, and thorough in the industry. The ability to let others “link” to “you” is very important. This is also the expert + management route. core.
Second:
The update of the interpersonal network will make us lose our “capacity” continuously, because skills with low overlap barriers will be replaced by others. It is important to keep ourselves based on the new “effective structural hole”. .
The third:
Due to the formation of the “structural hole” principle, it seems that if “individuals or organizations” want to maintain an advantage in the competition, they must establish extensive connections, while occupying more structural holes and mastering more information in order to promote “efficiency” Even “deal”.
Society is a big network, each of us is a “node” on this network, and every line connected to us is the result of interacting with others.
Through the cognitive structure hole, if our conclusion is limited to this, then it is easy to fall into the vulgar “expanding network relationship” and “actively socializing” this set of spiritual chicken soup.
In fact, if you want to become a π-shaped talent, you must first become a T-shaped person and create quality social interaction. The key point is to “deep in the vertical field.”
From the perspective of individual work, a vertical T represents whether your experience can be a methodology, and a horizontal line represents whether the methodology can be a “tangible asset”, which can be released through the Internet.Great ability.
From the perspective of the company, a vertical T represents whether your company’s subdivided businesses can solve social problems, and horizontally represents the ability of the marketing department to connect with the outside world.
With these, we can evolve to the π type, otherwise, from the perspective of the company, it is like a powerful country without diplomacy, no one knows.
From an individual point of view, there is no ability. You are just a “requester” in the interpersonal market, or a copy of other people’s ability, and no real barriers can be established.
So, the essence of structural holes is to let us understand the importance of “T-shaped”. T-packing is “a node” in the network, and then many things are integrated to expand the scale effect. Do a lot of things in relationships and resources.
02. Understand the core of π.
From the surface shape of π, it is different from T by “one more calf”. The core of calf is “your second occupation”, commonly known as “passionate skills”. Look carefully at whether it looks like A man who walks on two legs.
Moreover, this person can integrate multiple knowledge, find the underlying principles and innovate and even “construct effective barriers” ability, and you can list a simple story.
Patrick Tay’s story:
There is a member of parliament in Singapore who studied law at university, but after graduation, he did not enter the legal system, but became a policeman.
In the process of being a police officer, he has been committed to community and legal services. At the same time, he did not give up legal studies. He studied international law while working as a police officer, and obtained a master’s degree in law.
After finishing his career as a police officer, Patrick was hired by Singapore’s National Staff Legal Services Department. Hearing this name, he knew that This is a department that needs to deal with legal issues and deal with labor unions.
Patrick was hired precisely because he happened to have both legal and community service skills. This is a typical “π-shaped talent” experience.
Perhaps most people will think that this kind of experience is successful but it should be rare. Let alone copying, it is not easy for most people to develop one skill. If you want to develop a second skill, wouldn’t it? Harder?
In fact, it may not be necessary. The career development of a person increases linearly, and the level of skills is directly proportional to the time and energy invested.
The development of human skills is more like a logarithmic curve. When we first come into contact with a new skill, we can make rapid progress through simple learning. Come and goStrenuous.
This means that mastering a skill may require practicing the “ten thousand hours rule”, but mastering the basics does not require a lot of time.
But you may also ask, although the old saying goes that there are too many skills, but one more skill, especially such a skill that is not superb, what use is it? It’s actually really useful.
List a few simple examples:
If a programmer has writing skills in addition to development, then he can summarize his methodology and write a book, which will bring added value.
If a product manager, in addition to drawing PRD prototypes, understands operational growth skills, and invests enough time to master it, then his ability will be stronger in the company.
If a visual designer is proficient in brand strategy and copywriting knowledge in addition to graphic design, can he be a “brand designer”, is more powerful in the vertical field.
Look at the above examples, is it “dual skills”? Even if you don’t cultivate the “second skills” to the first-class level, you can also obtain “π-type talents” through the stacking of skills.
Pi-type talents are quite obvious in the “competitiveness” of large companies. One person can drive the entire team, but from the market perspective, it seems that there are many π-type talents.
How to maximize your own value from the crowd?
I think another core focus of π is J, which is the small foot part of π. J stands for “integration, marketing, communication, and amplification” capabilities.
There is a class of people on the market called “super individuals”. They have a complete set of closed-loop capabilities, which contain three elements: ability, resources, and transactions.
They are also “structure tree” linkers, and this group of people can solve the efficiency problem of “company-to-company cooperative links”.
Some super individuals continue to grow and become “super organizations” or “network collaborative organizations”.These people are generally more common in “net celebrities, self-media, creative companies, public relations companies”.
In summary, to become a π-type talent is not only a person who has a deep understanding in a certain field, but also the ability to integrate, promote, and enlarge the “two skills and knowledge”.
03. How to effectively “migrate” knowledge from different industries.
Many people around me said: “Professional knowledge learned in university” is all returned to the teacher after work. In fact, this is a wrong way of understanding. Any knowledge can be transferred and integrated into work skills.
Knowledge is all different systems:
Everything is “various systems”, such as a city, a company, a set of English, a set of management theory, and so on.
The essence of human learning is to learn different systems, such as “physics”, “biology” and “philosophy”. Then the question is, how can we better understand the operating mechanism of these systems?
The answer is “Grasp the framework of the system first.”
Because the “framework” is a simplified embodiment of the organic connection between the constituent elements of the system and the elements. For example, the simplest framework for the company mentioned above is the composition of “administration, market, operation, products, and technology”.
Everyone has a framework thinking, but they didn’t use it when dealing with complex things, or didn’t seriously look for the “connections” between the “frames”. These connections are the underlying “laws”.
For example: When we are expressing, many people will say I don’t know what you’re talking about? Either I know a lot of things that I can’t say and I really want to express. At this time, if someone tells you that there is a “pyramid framework”, you will be very smooth.
What is a pyramid model:
I think of it as four dimensions. What are the realizations? What is the goal? What do i think? what’s happening? Top-down conclusion, purpose, and then analyze the process.
Whenever “conclusion first”, then explain the content, and finally analyze the process, is it clear?
For example, if you report to your work with your leader, you will explain a bunch of processes as soon as you enter the door. When the leader has time to listen, he will suddenly become trapped and don’t know what you are expressing.
Therefore, there are rules for everything to follow. Either start the “frame thinking” in the brain to find the rules, or learn from the “knowledge framework” that others have summarized.
Either way, the essence of learning is to build a system that meets your own personalized work needs, can produce benefits for yourself, and regardless of “migration”A “personal knowledge system framework” that can continue to output value everywhere.
How to build your own flexible knowledge framework:
When I started to build a framework of workflow knowledge, I usually start from personal career goals and work application scenarios, because the knowledge you acquire is directed to an application goal, which is not only convenient for “learning and management”, but also quick to start and solve Problems at work.
The core process is:
Pyramid starting (goals, needs, process)-learning-practice-absorbing new knowledge-re-learning-iterative upgrade.
Formulas are always boring, may wish to refer to specific cases:
For example, when you start to work as a market, you recommend your company’s products to customers, then for junior marketers, the sales process is:
Explore customer needs—sale preparation (data)—visit customers—introduce products—answer questions and solve doubts—finished transactions (unfinished transactions)—follow up.
It does not need to be studied for too long to master. According to the sales process, we can easily build a framework. The so-called essence of work is the superposition of problems.
To build a professional knowledge framework, we must first find the essential laws behind the professional knowledge and organize it according to the main principles and laws of the professional field.
Not only that, but also to meet two requirements: one is the core appeal (personality, habits, general abilities that have nothing to do with majors, such as the ability to connect with people).
The second is to require all the core qualities, general abilities, professional skills, and necessary knowledge to integrate an organic whole around our professional purpose.
The ability to build a knowledge system must also be gradually learned as actual goals change and promotion opportunities. Add and modify this knowledge system to make it more complete and transferable.
Illustration:
A marketing director, his necessary knowledge is composed of “vertical field” and “deep professional”.
Other components are divided into 4 parts, namely “Competitive Product Analysis (macro, micro, meso)” “core quality (personality,IQ)”.
“Transferable ability (fast learning, precise expression, writing, interpersonal relationship management)” “Transferable skills (general skills, work skills)”.
With the above-mentioned “Personal Knowledge System Framework Foundation” built on the basis of the workflow, at this step you only need to find references in the industry, such as books written by great people, analyze their framework and then absorb the system to integrate yourself The content has a new knowledge system.
Then you are thinking, where does the transferability of knowledge come from?
I sum it up as: Awareness of the knowledge system, the triangular pyramid principle of handling things, the knowledge framework based on the work process, and the knowledge framework based on the professional field. This set of processes is like a “PDCA” cycle.
All positions in the Internet industry can be changed for individuals. If you learn this and add a strong learning ability, 80% uncertainty will not confuse us, because you can completely The ability to migrate” goes deep into the bone marrow.
The reason why π-type talents can establish high barriers and invincibility in an uncertain society is that they have their own “cognitive system” when they encounter problems, and can quickly identify and restore the truth behind the problem. Nature.
Secondly, “Super Learning Ability” and “Framework Thinking” can quickly understand and start a new knowledge or field, and then “have transferable ability” to quickly adjust, be competent, and meet new requirements. Professional needs.
04. A small closed loop “concurrency force” is formed.
Why become a π-type talent? The answer is to give yourself more “determinism” in an uncertain society.
In reality, it is obvious that “adapting to the environment” and “responding to random” changes are not easy.
So in the face of the ever-changing environment and the external world, the immutable one-way thinking and monistic model are far from helping us to deal with it normally, what should we do? At this time we have to learn to “transform ourselves”.
Speaking of an experiment with flies and bees:
The scientist put a few flies and bees in a glass bottle, laid the bottle flat, with the bottom of the bottle facing the window.
As a result, the bees kept spinning around the bottom of the bottle, desperately looking for an exit, until they consumed all their physical energy and energy, and eventually “starved to death due to lack of energy”.
And the flies kept crashing, in less than two minutes, Finally escaped from the other end of the bottle.
But when the bottle is placed in a relatively “dark” place, and only a small hole is opened to show light to the mouth of the bottle, the bee can quickly get out, but it is difficult for the flies to find the exit, because the bees have compound eyes. Stronger phototropism.
The sensitivity and paranoia of sunlight determine that they will not approach dark places, even if it is an exit.
What can be learned from this experiment?
What is the fly pattern: The fly is like the old saying, “like a headless fly”, so there are five symbolic words, which are “continuously Trial and error, take risks, improvise, innovate, dare to challenge”.
What is the bee model: The usual work of bees is “efficient” and methodical two points and one line, so there are three similar symbolic words representing “logic, persistence, goal sense”.
Experimental summary, whether it is perseverance, constant trial and error, adventure, challenge and innovation, logic, sense of purpose, the essence of all this is to return to “helping people cope with uncertain changes”.
The above bees are like professional people, while the flies are more like π-thinking people.
Charlie Munger said: “For a person with a hammer in his hand, everything looks like a nail.” This is not clear. After all, the real world is not classified according to disciplines, nor is it independent. Coincident constructs a single rule.
It was summarized in “The Origin of Species”, “The species that can survive is not the strongest, nor the smartest, but the one that is the most adaptable to change.”
Based on various uncertainties, we must bravely “transform ourselves”, from bees to flies, try more at work, see more people in daily life, do it when you think of it, and do it wrong Quickly adjust.
This era of uncertainty does not belong to those who “want to understand before doing it”, but people who “fire first, aim later, iterate quickly, and occupy positions quickly”, transform themselves Very important.
Where is the personal small closed loop?
Remember the three elements of super individuals mentioned above? Ability, resources, transactions.
When you have the ability, you are a powerful role in the company at best, but the resources and contacts in the industry will not come naturally. This is the era when the fragrance of wine is afraid of deep alleys.So what should I do? Spread out.
What is the core of communication? Broadcast and upload.
What does the broadcast depend on? Sound, language, all these are called “audio information media. What do you rely on? In addition to sound, there are pictures and texts, which belong to the “visual part”, so text and pictures are also carriers.
The simplest form of effective communication is “Do a good job of tentacle”, your tentacle is “information (graphics, audio)” information represents penetration, and information represents “personal brand “.
The more information you output, the greater your influence. At this time, your structural holes will become more, and you will have more information gaps, so “transactions” become To your core.
What is the nature of the transaction? In the market, it is “solving problems”, “matching needs” and “reaching a consensus”. Why do transactions need to be done? The answer is “recognition of link ability”.
Then what can be done for trading links, the answer is “trade your ability”.
Turn your abilities into “tangible products”, such as the “consulting services” and “paid courses” you see on the market. This is the ability of typical π-type talents to deal with uncertain environments and deterministically.
In summary, the core of forming a small closed-loop “concurrency” is One is to transform oneself from bee to fly, and the other is to transform ability into product.
Write at the end:
π-type thinking is not a super-individual, super-individuals must have π-type thinking.
No matter what industry or job we are in, we must develop interests and skills and devote passion to it.
That is not only a love, it is a weapon that can help us resist crises, get better development opportunities and even change our destiny.
Do your first skills professionally and passionate skills thoroughly. If the two are integrated and broadcast together, you will be able to achieve leap-forward growth.