is it better to be well rounded or to double down and be an expert in one thing?

This is obviously contentious, but from my personal experience, being well rounded is actually a huge advantage. We all have heard “jack of all trades, master of none”  but that's not actually the full quote it is “jack of all trades, master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one”

This means mastering one skill is cool but being good at multiple skills is a SUPERPOWER. Because when things go haywire, you now have the ability to adapt. When markets change, you pivot. When one skill becomes irrelevant, you’ve got a backup. In today's world where AI and tech are evolving daily, being versatile isn't just an option - it is your secret weapon. 

1. Lattice of mental models One of the first things that shaped this perspective for me was Charlie Munger’s idea of the “lattice of mental models”. He argues that actually pulling on different mental models from different industries makes you a much stronger decision maker. He warned against what he called “the man with a hammer syndrome”: if you double down so far on just one industry, one mental model, you start to believe that the way you solve problems is the only way to solve something, the only tool that you have, regardless of the problem at hand. Specialisation can easily lead to tunnel vision—everything starts to look like a nail. Cross-pollination of ideas is especially vital in today’s world, where the most groundbreaking innovation often happens at the intersection of fields. Having knowledge in one area often has a spillover effect on others—it gives you new lenses to view problems differently.
   

2. You are best at being you You create less competition for yourself by becoming more and more unique yourself. Naval has a concept that I love: how everyone is a uniquely special person, especially because of their own unique knowledge, desires, capabilities and therefore they should lean into being themselves.

   

   The most compelling people I’ve come across aren’t defined by one label. They’ve leaned into their quirks, their varied interests, their different backgrounds. They create a unique intersection of knowledge for themselves, that really makes them stand out.  Whether they’re building companies, finding internships, or crafting personal brands, their layered perspective becomes their moat.
   

3. It Gives You Leverage Being well-rounded helps you understand the world better—and that understanding makes you a better teammate, a better partner, a better negotiator. I’ve seen this in my own life: being on both sides of the table—a student and a teacher, a cook and a very serious eater, an artist and an audience member, a consumer and a creator, a team player and a leader.  Having sat at these seats is not the knowledge I gained from these roles that have given me a benefit but it's actually the understanding -  the psychology, the incentive, the social structures, things that are really not discernible from the outside. Here's a better example: A friend of mine is studying engineering but also did theater for years. Now he is a product designer. He builds technically sound products and knows how to tell stories around them, pitch them with emotion, and lead teams with empathy. He’s not the best engineer or actor in the room—but the combination? That’s rare.
   

Of course, specialisation has its place. We need surgeons, mathematicians, deep experts. But we also need integrators—people who connect dots between those experts. People who may not know everything, but know enough to collaborate, translate, and execute.

You don’t need to learn everything. The real question is: What do you want to learn, and why? It doesn’t always need an ROI. Sometimes it’s about following your curiosity and gradually stacking skills and experiences that make sense to you. Eventually, you end up like Leonardo da Vinci – a polymath, master of the arts, the sciences. He wasn't perfect at everything, there are 99 percent of thing of the world he never even understood or could do, but he was an expert with anatomy, he was an artist, a painter, and architect. Just enough to be extraordinary.