In this episode of The Case For…, host Matt Campobasso—an attorney managing the legal function for a billion-dollar company and a father of three—sits down to challenge the most pervasive myth in professional development: the cult of the specialist.

We are taught to be scalpels: precise, narrow, and specialized. But as Matt argues, a scalpel is only useful if you’re in an operating room. The moment you step into the "wicked" environments of modern business, shifting markets, or the chaos of parenting, that narrow edge becomes a liability.

Pulling from David Epstein’s landmark book, Range, and psychologist Robin Hogarth’s research on learning environments, this episode builds the case for why being a Swiss Army Knife is the only real hedge we have against an unpredictable world.

• Kind vs. Wicked Environments: Why specialization works in golf and chess, but fails in the boardroom and real life.

• The Integrator Advantage: Why the roles you actually want (Director, VP, C-Suite) are about connecting dots, not drilling holes.

• The Comfort Strategy Trap: Why we hide in specialization to feel "safe," and how to get comfortable being the "master of none."

• The Portfolio Rule: How to build intentional breadth without turning your career into chaos.

1. The Executive Answer: A single sentence to project judgment over desperate speed.

2. The Three Lenses Question: A framework to instantly force breadth on any project.

3. The Portfolio Rule: A strategy for compounding range one quarter at a time.

The Verdict: Specialists win arguments, but people with range win outcomes. Don’t build your career to be impressive in one lane; build it to be effective in the whole system.

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