Business Myths Debunked: The Renaissance Man -- by Nate Winter

While originating in the European Renaissance (1450-1600 C.E.), the notion of a Renaissance Man lives on today referring to those with a variety of interests and talents as applied to career as well as vocations. While admirable in its own right, the Renaissance Man ideal still idolized today in business is a misplaced role model.

In my Culture/Ed article "IKEA, Opiate of the Masses" from 2.22.07, I discuss how modern business is moving rapidly toward extreme specialization. It begs questions like, “Does the term ‘renaissance man’ apply to a guy who can change my break pads and replace my air filter?”

Today rather than having a few people that can build an entire automobile from start to finish, business maintains an assembly line mentality where each person does one small part of the larger process. That's specialization. It's cheaper to hire people because the necessary skills are so rudimentary. And most importantly, it's faster.

The inherent business problem with Renaissance Men, especially the entrepreneurial types, in today's business world is that they make the corporate brain trust too small. They become the hub for all ideas and decisions within their many skill sets. They don't distribute responsibility to others and the bottle neck effect of this centralized organization slows progress. The Renaissance Man values being at the center of every decision and won't relinquish that control to others.

With a Renaissance Man mentality, it can be difficult to establish an organization of distributed responsibility. The Renaissance Man is inevitably dissatisfied with the work of others compared to his own. Rather than invest time and energy into finding or training the proper employee to take on part of his responsibility (a strategy for long-term growth), The RM becomes easily frustrated and chooses to do the work himself. This short-sighted behavior keeps the business from making the progress it would enjoy under a business model of distributed responsibility.

There is a prideful component to the Renaissance Man, who is, by nature, a person who rarely relies on others. He views such reliance as a sign of weakness in himself. He thinks, "Why tolerate others doing something I can do better myself?"

The primary short-coming of the Renaissance Man is that it runs counter to the widely accepted business axiom, "time is money." Doing it all yourself takes more time. This is why Renaissance Man businesses grow to a moderate size and then either remain moderate in size or try to continue growth under a flawed business model and collapse.

The farther our culture and economy goes on reinforcing specialization, the greater our interest will be in the idea of the Renaissance Man. The likes of Leonardo DaVinci, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson who possess a multitude of talents will continue to captivate us.

History is littered with famous specialists, but few of them, if any, have been recognized for their incredible focus. The position of specialist is a thankless one.

One exception is fictional detective Sherlock Holmes-- a notorious specialist. In one adventure Watson stands in disbelief at his intellectual idol's lack of even basic knowledge regarding astronomy. Unfazed by an accusation of unintelligence, Holmes states that he has no interest in astronomy. He prefers to have intimate and exhaustive knowledge of a select number of subjects rather than cursory knowledge of many.

A logical argument from a successful, if purely fictional, figure.

While the Renaissance Man ideal is a noble one, modern business based on specialization should not espouse it. Rather it should apply an opposite adage for the Renaissance Man, "Jack of all trades, master of none."

-- Nate Winter