What capabilities give you an irreplaceable edge?
T-Shaped Capability
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ← HORIZONTAL: reach people
┃
┃ ← VERTICAL: make things
| Bar | Type | Examples | What It Does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horizontal | Soft | Selling, storytelling, negotiating, networking, writing | Gets value to people |
| Vertical | Hard | Coding, engineering, designing, building, producing | Creates value |
Neither alone is enough. Build something nobody sees = waste. Sell something that doesn't exist = fraud.
See Dream Engineer for the full model.
Three Types of Knowledge
| Type | Where it lives | Can AI copy it? |
|---|---|---|
| Know-how | In your head | Hard - requires experience |
| Codified | In systems, manuals, code | Easy - AI excels here |
| Embodied | In practice, relationships | Hard - compounds over time |
The question: which capabilities are yours to own?
To sell will remain human, but marketing will be run by machines.
📄️ Creativity
Creativity is making connections
📄️ Critical Thinking
Evaluate claims. Separate signal from noise.
📄️ Empathy
Feel what others feel. See through their eyes.
📄️ First Principles
Strip away assumptions. Reason from fundamentals.
📄️ Listening
Reflective listening is a kind of checking out process to determine that both you and the speaker understand what he or she is trying to say.
📄️ Negotiation
Never split the difference.
📄️ Luck
What could go right?
📄️ Patterns
Pattern recognition is the ability to identify, interpret, and categorize regularities or recurring elements in data.
📄️ Planning
Turn vision into steps. Make the abstract concrete.
📄️ Presenting
Present information in a way that is engaging and memorable.
📄️ Questioning
Ask better questions. Unlock better answers.
📄️ Selling
Learn how to sell, learn how to build with maximize leverage and you will become unstoppable.
📄️ Storytelling
Is storytelling the most valuable skill anyone can possess?
📄️ Systems Thinking
See the whole. Understand how parts connect.
📄️ Visualisation
A picture is worth a 1000 words.
📄️ Memory
Working Memory: How do you maintain a state of flow?
📄️ Writing
Good writing is a sign of clear thinking. Writing solidifies, chat dissolves.
🗃️ Languages
3 items
Credit & Credibility
Cheap credit builds leverage. Cheap credit requires selling potential backed by probability that engineering delivers outcomes.
| Concept | What is it? | How earned? | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capabilities | What you can do | Demonstrated performance | Foundation |
| Credibility | Belief others have | Reputation, outcomes | Multiplier |
| Credentials | Official proof | Certificates, licenses | Gatekeeper |
| Credit | Trust extended | Past reliability | Lever |
By Archetype
Which mind are you developing?
| Archetype | Top Capabilities |
|---|---|
| Dreamer | Creativity, Visualisation, Storytelling, Optimism, Selling |
| Engineer | Systems Thinking, Planning, Pattern Recognition, Memory, Writing |
| Realist | Critical Thinking, Listening, Pattern Recognition, Negotiation, Presenting |
| Coach | Questioning, Listening, Empathy, Presenting, Negotiation |
| Philosopher | First Principles, Critical Thinking, Questioning, Writing, Pattern Recognition |
Thinking
How you reason:
- Systems Thinking — See how parts connect
- First Principles — Reason from fundamentals
- Critical Thinking — Evaluate claims without bias
- Pattern Recognition — See what others miss
- Planning — Turn vision into steps
Communication
How you transfer ideas:
- Storytelling — Narrative that moves people
- Writing — Clarity in text
- Presenting — Presence and delivery
- Listening — Understanding before responding
- Questioning — Unlock better answers
- Languages — Connect across cultures
Connection
How you relate:
- Empathy — Feel what others feel
- Selling — Trust transfer
- Negotiation — Find mutual value
Foundation
What underlies everything:
- Memory — Retaining what matters
- Creativity — Generating options
- Visualisation — Seeing futures
- Optimism — Persistence through setbacks
The Edge
AI handles codified knowledge. Your edge is:
- Experience - Know-how that can't be explained
- Relationships - Trust that can't be copied
- Judgment - Decisions under uncertainty
- Character - Who you are when it's hard
Build capabilities that compound. Develop character that can't be faked.
Where is your point of difference?