USING THE 80-20 RULE TO BUILD YOUR TALENT STACK
“you don't need 100% mastery. 80% of many skills beats 100% of one.”
The Lesson
Talent stacks become powerful when you realize most skills have an 80% that's learnable in under an hour. To be a good engineer, you need 95% mastery. But to add writing to your stack? A 10-minute viral article on writing can change everything. Speaking, negotiating, social media, photography: all have cores learnable in under an hour. An engineer who also writes well, speaks publicly, negotiates, and understands social media becomes Elon Musk-level valuable. These stacked skills also fuel creativity. Everything new is just combinations of existing things. Look for skills you can add in less than an hour.
Real-World Example
A founder is a solid engineer but can't raise money or hire well. Instead of getting an MBA, they spend one hour learning the 80% of negotiation (BATNA, anchoring, silence). Another hour on the 80% of public speaking (eye contact, pauses, stories). Another on writing (short sentences, active voice, delete adjectives). Within a week, they're not an expert at anything new, but their combined stack makes them dramatically more effective at fundraising and recruiting.
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