Master of None: How a Jack-of-All-Trades Can Still Reach the Top
In this revelatory memoir, the former CEO of Sonic challenges established thinking, offering counterintuitive career advice essential for every professional at all levels, whether you're just starting out or in the middle of your career.

In his bestselling Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell introduced readers to the 10,000-hour rule—the foundation of success in any endeavor. But as Clifford Hudson reveals, there are serious pitfalls to this rule. What happens to those who spend years trying to achieve something that doesn’t quite pan out? Do you really have to grind down the same path for many years, sacrificing priorities to become successful? 

In Master of None, Hudson turns expertise on its head and shows that by embracing variety and becoming more versatile, anyone can succeed and become more open to different opportunities in life. To do so, he provides three basic rules that will see any professional through: 

  1. Don't plan, explore
  2. Don't specialize, generalize
  3. Don't keep your head down, turn it up toward opportunity 

In this thought-provoking memoir, Hudson asks whether or not mastery is even necessary to succeed. Most people don't need to be experts in their field. Yes, the successful know more than the average person about a particular topic, and they often possess a better-than-average ability with a particular skillset; but not everyone who is successful is an expert, he makes clear.

More importantly, in today’s technology-driven environment, change is the only constant, including the nature of work and the skills required to do it. Over-investing in expertise is often riskier than learning to be adaptive and open to new knowledge, ideas, and skills. Experience can also lead to overconfidence. And yet we continue to deeply value the expertise ideal. 

Groundbreaking and thought provoking, Master of None is a new way forward to help businesses and professionals at all levels thrive.

1136013715
Master of None: How a Jack-of-All-Trades Can Still Reach the Top
In this revelatory memoir, the former CEO of Sonic challenges established thinking, offering counterintuitive career advice essential for every professional at all levels, whether you're just starting out or in the middle of your career.

In his bestselling Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell introduced readers to the 10,000-hour rule—the foundation of success in any endeavor. But as Clifford Hudson reveals, there are serious pitfalls to this rule. What happens to those who spend years trying to achieve something that doesn’t quite pan out? Do you really have to grind down the same path for many years, sacrificing priorities to become successful? 

In Master of None, Hudson turns expertise on its head and shows that by embracing variety and becoming more versatile, anyone can succeed and become more open to different opportunities in life. To do so, he provides three basic rules that will see any professional through: 

  1. Don't plan, explore
  2. Don't specialize, generalize
  3. Don't keep your head down, turn it up toward opportunity 

In this thought-provoking memoir, Hudson asks whether or not mastery is even necessary to succeed. Most people don't need to be experts in their field. Yes, the successful know more than the average person about a particular topic, and they often possess a better-than-average ability with a particular skillset; but not everyone who is successful is an expert, he makes clear.

More importantly, in today’s technology-driven environment, change is the only constant, including the nature of work and the skills required to do it. Over-investing in expertise is often riskier than learning to be adaptive and open to new knowledge, ideas, and skills. Experience can also lead to overconfidence. And yet we continue to deeply value the expertise ideal. 

Groundbreaking and thought provoking, Master of None is a new way forward to help businesses and professionals at all levels thrive.

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Master of None: How a Jack-of-All-Trades Can Still Reach the Top

Master of None: How a Jack-of-All-Trades Can Still Reach the Top

Master of None: How a Jack-of-All-Trades Can Still Reach the Top

Master of None: How a Jack-of-All-Trades Can Still Reach the Top

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Overview

In this revelatory memoir, the former CEO of Sonic challenges established thinking, offering counterintuitive career advice essential for every professional at all levels, whether you're just starting out or in the middle of your career.

In his bestselling Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell introduced readers to the 10,000-hour rule—the foundation of success in any endeavor. But as Clifford Hudson reveals, there are serious pitfalls to this rule. What happens to those who spend years trying to achieve something that doesn’t quite pan out? Do you really have to grind down the same path for many years, sacrificing priorities to become successful? 

In Master of None, Hudson turns expertise on its head and shows that by embracing variety and becoming more versatile, anyone can succeed and become more open to different opportunities in life. To do so, he provides three basic rules that will see any professional through: 

  1. Don't plan, explore
  2. Don't specialize, generalize
  3. Don't keep your head down, turn it up toward opportunity 

In this thought-provoking memoir, Hudson asks whether or not mastery is even necessary to succeed. Most people don't need to be experts in their field. Yes, the successful know more than the average person about a particular topic, and they often possess a better-than-average ability with a particular skillset; but not everyone who is successful is an expert, he makes clear.

More importantly, in today’s technology-driven environment, change is the only constant, including the nature of work and the skills required to do it. Over-investing in expertise is often riskier than learning to be adaptive and open to new knowledge, ideas, and skills. Experience can also lead to overconfidence. And yet we continue to deeply value the expertise ideal. 

Groundbreaking and thought provoking, Master of None is a new way forward to help businesses and professionals at all levels thrive.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781799943266
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 10/13/2020
Product dimensions: 5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)

About the Author

Cliff Hudson is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Oklahoma City-based Sonic Corp. He also served as a trustee of the Ford Foundation and is a past chairman of the board of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Change Is a Constant 15

Chapter 2 Control Is an Illusion 39

Chapter 3 Harmony Enriches Most Any Tune 57

Chapter 4 Just Say Yes 75

Chapter 5 You Don't Need to Originate Opportunities to Seize Them 95

Chapter 6 Innovation Is Not a Luxury 113

Chapter 7 Your "And" Matters More Than Your "What" 133

Chapter 8 Relevance Is a Paradox 153

Chapter 9 Surviving the Perfect Storm 171

Epilogue Mastery Isn't Necessary to Live a Full Life 193

Acknowledgments 199

Notes 209

Index 215

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