The Power of Mediocrity or the Erosion of Expertise?

In today’s job market, there is a common idea that success requires highly polished, specialized expertise—that you must be the best in the world at one specific thing. Skill stacking, a concept introduced by Scott Adams, offers an alternative: success doesn’t come from a single diamond-level skill, but from a unique combination of several “average” skills. While the idea is good, it makes me wonder: are we eroding the value of true expertise?

It is extremely difficult to become the best 1% in the world in a single field, like drawing. However, if you combine moderate drawing skills, a good sense of humor, and an understanding of business, you suddenly create a niche with very little competition. Adams’ own comic strip, Dilbert, is a perfect example. Who defines what “world-class” means? If you earn 75 million dollars with a comic strip, surely you can be considered at the top of your field. Clearly, he is an entertainer, not a painter.

This approach is undeniably effective in the modern economy. It fuels innovation that happens at the intersection of different fields. When a coder understands psychology or a doctor knows data analysis, they create solutions and services that neither profession could invent alone.

The Risks of Being “Average”

Although skill stacking sounds attractive, it contains a dangerous assumption: that being mediocre in several areas is enough to carry you far. It is reasonable to challenge Adams’ view: can you truly achieve lasting respect with just a surface-level understanding?

Constantly learning and combining new skills can lead to cognitive overload. If an individual must be a marketer, a technical expert, and a great communicator all at once, the pressure to perform can lead to burnout. Even if you have experience in multiple areas, these field change continuously, and you have must to stay up tp date. Wouldn’t it be more efficient for everyone to find their own strength and delegate tasks? Perhaps people should work as a team so that expert knowledge is available for high-level challenges. At its worst, this mindset can lead to “a little bit of this and that” thinking, resulting in underperformance. Without a clear focus, even a talented person can become an underachiever. I admit that, on the other hand, skill stacking allows for creative problem-solving.

For a skill stack to work, there usually needs to be one “anchor skill” that is stronger than the others. Without this solid foundation, the stack is a shaky tower that won’t stand up to critical inspection.

Skill Stacking in the Age of AI

The rise of Artificial Intelligence is fundamentally changing the logic of skill stacking. Previously, an “average” skill, such as basic coding or writing, was a valuable part of a stack because it took hundreds of hours to learn. Now, AI has turned these basic skills into commodities that anyone can use at the touch of a button.

AI has raised the bar: it already produces average text, code, and graphics faster and cheaper than humans. This brings two significant risks:

Loss of deep understanding: We might stop learning the “why” behind the work. Loss of unique competitive advantage: If everyone uses the same tools, it’s harder to stand out.

The biggest change is that AI acts as a catalyst. It allows us to bridge gaps between skills that previously took years to master. Today, skill stacking must focus more on personal style, taste, and vision—things that are the hardest for AI to copy.

Conclusion

I believe skill stacking is at its best when seen as a strategic supplement rather than a way to avoid specialization. We don’t need fewer top experts; we need experts who can communicate and apply their skills in different contexts.

Adams is right that rarity is valuable. However, simply collecting skills without passion or deep understanding results in an empty shell. Success might not require being world-class in one thing, but it absolutely requires the ability to combine skills in a way that produces real value—not just a different-looking CV.

Skill stacking is a great tool for finding your strengths and creating unique solutions. Today, the value is no longer in knowing how to do many things, but in knowing how to connect and organize those things into an impactful whole. And for me that’s specialization in your own field.