Art Of Skill Stacking

kid stacking bricks on a wall to represent stacking skills

Skill stacking is far more important than acquiring "the right skills".

I first heard of Skill stacking from Scott Adams in his book, How To Fail At Almost Everything And Still Win Big. Skill stacking is this idea of simply developing multiple skills that complement each other, creating a unique blend that sets you apart. This means anyone can become exceptional at the intersection of their skills, and more importantly, their interests.

Skill Stacking Allows You To Become Exceptional at the Intersection of Skills and Your Interests

One of the many benefits of skill stacking includes becoming exceptional at the intersection of objective marketable skills and your subjective interests. By developing a unique blend of skills, you can stand out and offer a unique package of skills that no one else can.

This felt like a relief to me. I didn’t have to guess the “right” skill and struggle to learn about and perform at something I simply didn’t care about. All I had to do was follow my interests and pick up skills along the way. Eventually, the right combination would lead to something good.

Skill Stacks for Predictable Success

Specializing in a specific skill is not always the most effective path to success. In today's rapidly changing job market, it can be challenging to predict which skills will be in high demand in the future. By developing a skill stack, you can create a bit of a buffer in terms of massive tech swings and carve a more predictable path to success.

This is especially true in the double-exponential world of generative AI.

Skill Stacking Is a Numbers Game That Is In Your Favor

What are the odds you eventually make it to the top 5% of performers for any given skill?

Slim. Very slim. And the effort-to-value ratio to get there is not in your favor. On the other hand, what are the odds you can make it to the top ~50% of a couple of skill sets that you can combine to offer unique value? Very good.

High value for low effort. Now we are talking.

Skill Stacking + AI is a Potent Combination

One problem I’ve run into when it comes to skill stacking and have heard from others is that sometimes your interests take you in directions where you learn skills that can’t possibly result in anything objectively valuable.

This may have been true when technology and markets were limited by the human brain for idea generation but with the power of generative AI, the ability to connect what once seemed like disparate skill sets are now more approachable than ever. AI is the ultimate connector and can make skill stacking even more powerful.

Skill stacking is a great framework to future-proof your learning. Stay nimble, stay creative, and keep learning.