Revenge of the generalist
Two hours. That’s how long it took me this week to build my first app.
Team – AI.
Coding – vibe.
Roadmap – check.
This MVP already includes more features than planned for V1. Previously, in the “there’s an app for that” era, this project would have taken months and engineers. When I was in grad school, app development wasn’t even an option in computer science. Now? It's reality.
It’s also a turning point.
We’re entering a phase where how you think and learn (adaptability) is more valuable than what you know. The rise of no-code (vibe coding), AI tooling, and intelligent systems is reshaping what we actually need people for, and guess who’s built for this? Generalists.
Yes, you. Yes, me. This is why we’ve found each other.
At first, when a former boss called me a ‘marketing generalist’ it felt like an insult. I built a 10+ year marketing career, worked with 24+ startups, and never once took a marketing class.
One of my first startup roles was with the first all-female Y Combinator group. I was working out of a Charles Schwab startup incubator, on the 44th floor in SF when an earthquake hit—but that’s another story, surrounded by MIT grads, trying to prove I belonged. Naturally, the imposter syndrome crept in, something nearly everyone has experienced at some point, and most certainly every woman (Evy Poumpouras, Sarah Wynn Williams).
Did I belong? Hell Yes. I landed the job because of me, and my experience. I had a Master of Science, years of biomedical research, PR and event planning under my belt, and all of that ended up being quite applicable to helping grow that startup. I learned a lot there and leveraged that job into more and more marketing roles until I realized pivoting to consulting gave me the ability to apply what I’d learned across industries and contexts to make a bigger impact for my clients.
And I did. My expertise, at a high level, is general, since I have never worked specifically or solely on one thing. I would never say I am an SEO specialist or Copywriter, although I have done both.
But here's the thing: I’ve been automated out of two roles now. And honestly? That’s not a tragedy. It's evolution.
Repetitive work should be automated. AI and system-level thinking are making that possible faster than we expected. When Google quietly changed the game by letting hashtags outrank SEO-optimized content… specialists felt it. The value is shifting. We are going to look back at those decades of large, hyper specialized teams and laugh.
The premium is no longer just about what you can do — it’s about how you do it, your approach, how you think.
Strategy. Systems thinking. Taste. Discernment. Connectivity.
These are the skills that AI can't replicate. These are areas we need humans, but ultimately the roles will look different as AI integrations continue to evolve. As Milly Tamati, of Generalist.World, predicts, “the demand for people who can adapt and learn different systems and tools very fast is going to increase dramatically.” She’s right. We’re seeing the rise of fractional roles, contractors, fast learners, systems integrators, collaborative leaders.
Generalists are built for this era.
Here’s What You Can Do:
Stack your generalist tools: creativity, relationship building, communication facilitation
Curate your resources: to help you stay informed and ahead of the tech curve, find a few thought leaders or creators that resonate with you
Find your people: lean into community, many sources highlight the power of people in times like these. (Marsha Gessen’s Surviving Autocracy, Malcolm Gladwell’s Talking to Strangers, Friendship Garden’s )
Document your process: share what works, teach others, make your skillset visible
A potential client told me recently she wants to teach her team of specialists to think more like generalists. My response?