Why ‘talent stacking’ is the new Super Skill...

If you haven’t heard of the term ‘talent stacking’, you are missing out! This concept was coined by Scott Adam, creator of the Dilbert Cartoon series. 

And it has been one of the most important concepts I have discovered for accelerating my career and that of my clients.

What is talent-stacking?

The idea of talent stacking comes from the understanding that most people are never going to be in the top 5% of people in the world for one particular talent.

For example, you might be a great public speaker but are you in the top 5% in the world? Probably not. 

And what would it take to become the top 5%? Probably more effort than you need for what you want to achieve. 

But what happens if you stack talents together?

There is another way to become totally unique in the talents you possess and that is to ‘stack’ them together. More specifically, it is to stack 2 talents together that are typically not expected to go together.

For example, if you are a great public speaker you might not be in the top 5%. But if you are a great public speaker AND a biologist, all of a sudden you might find that you are in the top 5% of biologists who are great public speakers.

You don't have to be an expert in either of these skills. But by stacking together two talents that don’t typically go hand-in-hand you have made yourself incredibly unique.

And any time there is a need for a biologist to speak at a conference or on a TED talk, they’ll be calling you up!

Key talents to add to your Resume

You can obviously stack more than two talents. And it is the stacking of talents not usually seen together that makes you unique.

However, there are some talents I highly recommend you add to your resume. In most careers, combining these talents will create an acceleration.

• Public speaking - the average person hates public speaking. If you get even slightly good at it, you’ll be ahead of most people.
• Personal brand building - building your personal brand in your field and establishing yourself as an expert online is never a bad idea.
• Written skills - one of the most valuable skills you can have. If you want to get good at writing online check out Ship 30 for 30 and you’ll be an online writing expert in just 30 days.
• Sales - one of the most valuable skills you can have in business.

Get strategic + make a plan

If this idea of talent stacking appeals to you, I highly recommend sitting down with a piece of paper and writing down all the talents you currently have. 

Then look at your profession and write down the combinations of talents that don't typically go together. 

Do you already have a combination that makes you unique?

If not, what skills do you need to add to make you unique?

Then write a plan for how you will get exposure to learning these talents. Online courses, on-the-job learning, a mentor, a coach?

This is absolutely one of the most valuable things you can do for your career. You will never regret talent stacking.