The Specialist; or, Dr Snip

Don’t become a wandering generality. Be a meaningful specific.
Zig Ziglar

Specialists get more practice – they get better at what they do more quickly, develop “knack” and fingerspitzengefühl and are less likely to get rusty.
They streamline processes specific to their work and standardise inputs, which gives them greater control over outputs.
It makes more sense for specialists to invest in (or invent) specialist tools, improving efficiency and outcomes.
Because of the greater volume of specialised work that they do, specialists see more edge cases – they recognise them earlier, and deal with them better.
Specialised teams develop their own vocabulary to describe their work – they communicate fine-grained information rapidly and precisely.
Specialists seek out and learn from other specialists.
They can do the job more cost-effectively…
… but can charge more, because specialisation is a great marketing tool. Specialists have a clear offer, and are equally clear about what they don’t do. “We are the best at X. If you want Y, go down the road.”…
… which allows them to stay focused on what they do best, invest more on their tools and inputs, pay to outsource non-essentials, and keep on getting better.

Specialists risk getting blasé about their work. They think they’ve seen it all and see old patterns even when faced with new problems.
They focus too much on the technical problems they solve, and not enough on the people they serve or the wider systems they are part of.
They have fewer opportunities to learn from other fields. Old specialists are likely to lose out to new specialists bringing in new ideas, combinations and cross-pollinations.
Specialists sometimes take the low-hanging fruit (and high-margin jobs) from a larger system, threatening the viability of the whole.