Committing to Expertise: Hugh’s Story
ByI had Hugh from Hugh’s Service in Irving stop by my house yesterday to fix a rattling dryer. He did a great job. In his 60s or 70s, Hugh is the type of guy that really knows his stuff, and likes talking to you about it. He tells you how every part of your dryer looks, is working, what needs fixing, what doesn’t. He guides you through the process, and it’s pretty reassuring. You know that Hugh knows what he’s doing.
As he was leaving, I asked him if he did any handyman work. I’m needing a few other things fixed around the house, and considering that I am worse than the reincarnation of Tim the Tool Man Taylor, it’s best to farm these jobs out. Hugh started on a story of how he once put in a glass window for someone, how it shattered to pieces, and how he ended up spending $120 on a $30 job. He used it to answer my question: no, he’s not a handyman. He’d made the decision to not go down that road shortly after picking up the pieces of this customer’s window.
But he didn’t stop there. He went on to tell me he didn’t work on AC/HVAC units. He said the thought crossed his mind long ago, but he was warned to pick either appliances or HVAC, but not both.
Then, he went on to tell me he doesn’t even do much refrigerator work. He said they all work the same, but each brand has enough special intricacies that you just can’t learn them all unless that’s all you do.
Then he dropped his money quote on me: "You just can’t become an expert at something when you’re doing too much of a variety of stuff."
The funny thing here is that I bet Hugh could fix a fridge if he needed to. I bet he could tinker his way around an air conditioning system. I bet he could even handle the handyman work I need someone to do.
And I bet he could really use the work during a recession.
But he doesn’t, because Hugh is an expert at washers and dryers. He’s in business because it’s clear that he’s good at what he does. People like working with experts. We value them. We’ll even pay more for them.
There’s something you could be developing your expertise in if you’d just stop taking on all the other stuff. What is it, and how soon can you stop it?
