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4. Reading narrowly? Expand your reading selections. In addition to the literature you now read in
your specialty, expand to a broader selection of journals and magazines. What trade journals are
there for your industry? Visit the library and dip into the trade press for other industries. Read journals
that will expand your knowledge more broadly, such as Harvard Business Review, the Wall Street
Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, Time, Fortune. Read ones with global coverage like
Commentary, the Economist, Monocle, or the International New York Times. Follow business social
media and blogs. Browse through the business section of any good quality newspaper. Read the
latest business books. No time to sift through? Subscribe to Soundview Executive Book Summaries
and read summaries of the current best sellers.

5. Curious? Take a class. Take a seminar or workshop outside your area just for the fun of it. What do
you know nothing about, but would like to learn? Find out what sessions colleagues have found
helpful. Go online and see what’s available. Watch some TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design)
Talks on subjects you know nothing about. Broaden your mind outside of work. Join a martial arts
group. Take a painting class. Learn the art of French cuisine.

6. Need a vacation? Explore new destinations. Vacation more broadly. Get out of your comfort zone
and explore new places. If you can arrange it, vacation outside of your home country. Where have
you always been slightly nervous about going? Get the brochure. Where would you feel most
culturally out of place? Book a flight. Always gone five star and never “roughed it”? Find a hostel.

7. Ready to teach in order to learn? Organize a knowledge exchange. Find someone who is as
specialized as you are who is also seeking expansion and teach your specialties to each other. Get
together a small group and have each person agree to present a new technology or business topic
each month to the group. Teaching something new for you is one of the best ways to learn it yourself.

8. Got what it takes? Observe higher-level general managers. Look to some people in your area
who are in more senior jobs than you are. Are they as specialized as you are? Are they struggling in
their new roles because they are as specialized as you are? Read Career Mastery by Harry Levinson.

9. Want to learn the field? Interview an expert. Find some experts in what you need to learn.
Interview them. Find out how they think about their area. Ask them about the challenges they have
faced. How have they figured out what to do? What did they find most difficult when they were first
learning in this field? What’s most fun about their area? Most frustrating? Where do they go for
information? Who are their go-to people? What are the five key things they look for when they’re
faced with a problem? What do they wish they’d known before they started working in this area?
What has been their biggest learning in the last year?

10. Want to learn about alternatives? Interview a generalist. Pick three people who are broadly
skilled. Ask them how they got to be that way. What motivated them to become a generalist, rather
than specialize? What job experiences have they had? What do they read? Watch on TV? Who do
they like to learn from? How do they continue to grow their knowledge and expertise in so many
areas? Who do they recommend you contact to learn about an area in more depth?

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