The Dilettante's Dilemma

That might not be a completely fair way to begin.  A dilettante is, by definition, a dabbler and a trifler, someone who's not serious..

But, I'm interested in a couple of major - and very different career paths in the world of supply chain management.  At some point, better earlier than later, we all face the question of which way to develop.  A mile wide and an inch deep, or an inch wide and a mile deep?

The mile deep guys ("guys" being a gender-neutral term) often dismiss the inch deep guys as lightweights or dilettantes, no matter how serious the mile-widers really are.  The mile wide gang frequently looks upon the inch wide mob as nerds, or worse.

How to illustrate?  Think of the  mile widers as strategists or conceptual visionaries, while an inch-wider might have spent a quarter-century immersed in the esoterica of LTL rate structures.

It's tough to imagine a happy medium, like a foot wide and two blocks deep, or four blocks wide and a yard deep.  Here's my own take on the issue.

We, in the end, can't function optimally in either supply planning or execution without some infusion of detailed knowledge from the mile deep pocket protector brigade.  But, they are near-useless without the big-picture dudes (and dudettes) who can place the details into a strategic supply-chain-wide context.

The trick to success in this blending of skills, experiences, and visions has two key elements: 1) recognition by the mile-deeps that knowledge doesn't necessarily translate to wisdom; and 2) the inch-deeps' understandings of when, where, and how to integrate several inch wide contributions into complex supply chain solutions.

I suppose that this division of the workaday universe into two classes is a generally abused technique in a variety of  business settings, but I also think it is a vital set of contexts and classifications in the supply chain world.

Not only are there places for both, there is a critical need for both, and one without the other is sub-optimal at best and disastrous at worst.  We need to learn how to appreciate and embrace the positives of each, and leverage each's contributions to supply chain success.

Full disclosure: I'm one of the mile wide sheriffs.  I think I know when to call in the mile deep posse.  But, I could be wrong.  What do you think?  Do the inch wides know when to get the mile wides involved?  And, whether or not to turn over the reins to them?  Do the majority of mile wides comprehend that skimming over the surface can't make up for deep dives using the skliis of the inch wides?