What's New
Generalist or Specialist?
By Dave Tovissi
In a couple of weeks, a diverse group of stakeholders from across the globe will once again come to Northridge to share ideas and brainstorm on a couple of topics. The interaction between regions, departments and external consultants will allow us to do some self-reflecting and become more focused on our mission. We will review the progress of our current initiatives and strategy to determine if we should stay the course or change direction.
At the heart of every competitive strategy is the question of how companies choose to position themselves within an industry. As our industry continues to evolve with new technologies such as AI, we need to determine how we will best serve our customers in the future. One of the constant debates within companies offering luxury or premium products and services is whether they should rethink their talent acquisition and corporate training strategy to develop a team that is more representative of what customers expect from them. Do our customers expect our team to be comprised of technology generalists, or do they expect us to have a more specialized team? Some companies find themselves trying to be a little of both, and often get lost in the crowded competitive environment.
How we choose to differentiate our company from others should be clearly defined and agreed upon by the entire organization. For instance, medical professionals often made the decision early in their education if they wanted to be a general practitioner or a specialist in a particular type of care. Not only does the physician need to choose a path, but later in practice their entire office needs to exemplify that level of care. When we get sick or seek the advice of someone for care, who are we most comfortable trusting?
Are our businesses so much different from the medical field when it comes to how we want to be positioned as generalists versus specialists? When our customers are seeking the advice and products to purchase for music listening, immersive movie watching, gaming, lighting, wellness and security, who are they going to be most comfortable with?
Companies need to face their position in the market if they want to maximize their revenues. We need to determine what type of customers we want to do business with and then make sure that we have a team, facilities and marketing strategy that will attract them.
How to choose between generalist and specialist positions within any industry is at the heart of competitive strategy. At the most fundamental level, companies face a choice between specializing their activities to serve specific market segments or broadening to become generalists that serve multiple market segments.
I am convinced that companies can be successful whether they decide to be a perceived as a Generalist or Specialist in any industry if their personnel and services represent who they want to be and who they want to attract.
As I bring my team together to look in the mirror, we will be brainstorming on what our customers are seeking from us and whether we need to refocus. We will strive to align our product development, sales and marketing support efforts to better serve our customers.
I would love to hear your thoughts on how you perceive our products and support (generalized or specialized in the industry) and whether you feel we are best serving your needs as our customers. Send me your thoughts at david.tovissi@harman.com.