Hyper-specialization has come a long way, but is it worth it?

What’s The Hype?

According to the Harvard Business Review, one of the first major hyper specialization endeavours of the modern age was the conceptualization and building of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

• The list of contractors working on this mega-project topped out at nearly 400.
• Despite the best intentions of all involved, it did NOT go smoothly… (initially at least)

For a breakdown of Hyper-specialization, read more here.

When Does Business Hyper-Specialization Make Sense?

Hyper-specialization in a business sense means breaking down large projects into smaller tasks.

This allows employees to take full responsibility for that specific task, build their expertise vertically and finally become the undisputed expert in that very narrow field.

In embracing a Hyper-specialization business model, and consequently allowing employees to focus and cut out the noise of other parts of the project, a business offers its employees the chance to develop their own skills at a faster pace and to a greater degree.

For more on the ups and downs of hyper specialization, read here.

Have You Heard About The Gig-Economy?

Creating hyper specialists within your company will further allow you to set your business up perfectly to become part of the Gig-economy.

This is a new type of business model, which focusses on providing certain (hyper) specialized skills for shorter semi-permanent or free-lance periods. The benefits of this type of business model has come under scrutiny post covid.

“The notion of the gig economy disrupting the workplace has just been accelerated by Covid-19. People who have lost their jobs are going to become sole proprietors, selling their labour as gigs.” Marc Khan

Embracing the gig economy, on the back of becoming a hyper specialized company might just be the answer to your post covid workplace woes.

Benefits of this type of specialization include:

• No need for formal office space, so less overheads.
• You need less staff. Keep your specialists but hire in temporary workers for the rest.
• You have more control over your time and availability, so maintaining a work life balance is easier.
• Endless room for innovation, new experiences, and development, as each new “gig” brings its own challenges to overcome! (You won’t get bored)

Read the full discussion on the Gig-economy,