There's a reason oak trees survive storms that topple pines. While the pine shoots straight up, racing impressivly toward the sky, the oak seems to have more measured growth. Part of the answer, it turns out, is in the root systems. While the pine sends a root down in search of nutrients to sustain the quick growth, the oak spreads its roots sideways, building a foundation that can weather whatever comes. I find this lesson has helped shape the way I think about my professional endeavors, also. While everyone talks about upskilling (drilling deeper into expertise), I've found something more valuable: _outskilling_. Instead of just climbing higher in my domain, I've deliberately grown lateral roots that have helped to shape the way I think about product realization and go-to-market strategy. I believe this foundation makes me more adaptable, more valuable, and frankly, more effective at solving the complex problems that actually matter. Admittedly, I am currently in a period of deep self reflection, as I work on finding my next role in diagnostics product management. However, as I take stock, I am grateful for the skills I have developed. ![[20250924070903.png|600]] # What outskilling really means To be very clear, outskilling isn't about collecting random skills. It's about **being strategically curious across the value chain**. You learn how your expertise connects to the broader ecosystem where problems get solved. Over more than a decade in in precision diagnostics, I could have continued the growth that I started, deepening my technical skill and specializing, either with one team or by moving from one company to the next—hyper focused on product development. However, my desire was to focus on driving quantified business impacts to help patients and help put more good into the world. To do this, I chose to grow sideways: from prototype development to customer training, from clinical study management to product strategy, from troubleshooting to regulatory discussions. # The lateral advantage: seeing what others miss As I transitioned from being solely focused on proof-of-principle and early development work to more customer facing role, I was surpised by the profound disconnect that emerges between the areas of focus for internal teams and the day-to-day struggles of end users. Development teams often take their expertise for granted. They design for ideal conditions: consistent sample volumes, dedicated equipment, single assay requirements. Within their own labs they optimize and it becomes easy for many, including senior leadership to assume that these efficiencies translate to the on market product. However, we often forget that a map is *NOT* the territory! Maps are a representation, and they are opinionated. One map cannot capture the full complexity of all of the situations a device will be asked to perform under. Furthermore, the cartographer matters, and what they choose to show helps inform the direction of travel. My lateral roots give me a unique advantage. When troubleshooting customer issues, I draw on development context to ask better questions: _What are we optimizing for internally that doesn't match user reality? Which design assumptions are breaking down in the customer context?_ This dual perspective helps me understand feedback and frame to get both the quick win for the customer as well as helping drive toward sustainable solutions rather than reactionary one-off fixes. ## The Framework: building your lateral foundation Based on this experience, here's how to think about outskilling strategically: #### **1. Map your value chain.** First pick the outcome you care most about. Where does your work fit into the value chain? What happens before and after your contribution? #### **2. Identify the translation points.** Where do handoffs happen? What objectives and key results drive you? What about others in the value chain? How can you level up a skill that will help ease transitions? **These are prime opportunities for lateral growth.** #### **3. Seek productive friction.** The uncomfortable conversations (with customers, with other functions, with leadership) often reveal the most valuable learning opportunities. #### **4. Build your questioning framework.** Remember that breadth creates stability by giving you more angles from which to approach problems. Your lateral experience becomes a lens for asking better questions within your expertise. ### Questions to guide your outskilling journey: - What adjacent functions impact the success of your work? - How does your work effect the work other others? - Where do you see recurring disconnects between teams or between internal assumptions and external reality? - What customer-facing opportunities could deepen your understanding of how your expertise actually gets applied? - Which cross-functional projects feel "not really your job" but could build valuable bridges? # Why this matters now more than ever In a world increasingly focused on specialization, the ability to translate between domains is essential. The problems worth solving are rarely contained within single disciplines. They exist at the intersections, in the gaps between what different experts understand. Outskilling isn't about being mediocre at many things, it's about building deliberate breadth that makes your deep expertise more valuable—just as growing lateral roots make your tree both stronger and more resilient. The next time you see an opportunity to learn step outside your lane (that cross-functional project, the customer visit, the regulatory meeting where you're just observing), consider it an investment in your lateral foundation. However, use caution! Learning outside your lane doesn't give you license to regularly operate outside of your lane. However, when you appraoch these adjacent opportunities with curiosity and humility, you will slowly begin to see solutions others miss. While others race toward specialization, you'll be building something more valuable: the kind of foundation that creates solutions others can't see.