I see a lot of on LinkedIn proclaiming marketing generalists as the future. That those of us who’ve donned towers of hats will finally have our golden moment. That those acting as the “connective tissue” between various departments will finally get the muscles flexing and march business to exactly where it needs to go. AI has the potential to magnify our existing skills so having more must only be a benefit… right?

Without careful positioning, I worry it’s the opposite. 

Hear me out: Marketing has always fallen prey to critique from virtually anyone. The sales team will always need more leads, Product worries you aren’t highlighting functionality correctly and the founder’s son swears you need a podcast. We’re all swimming in daily exposure to marketing output, so naturally everyone is an expert. 

It impacts all marketers but is a particular grievance for the generalist bunch. If you spend your time spread across five disciplines, there will be at least five different specialists who are better read, better practiced and just all-around more skilled at each. Because that’s all they do. Every day. 

That’s the primary reason breadth is never what I lead with when introducing myself. For the last 15 years I’ve worked across brand creative, web design, UX, digital automation, analytics, business strategy and performance marketing. I spend my spare time making art and writing copious essays and stories. I used to run a production press and dabbled in photography. If you look up “generalist” in the dictionary, you’ll probably find my headshot beneath it. 

For those early in their career, this can be a great position. You’re like an ameba, becoming whatever a company needs, ready to absorb new lessons. But as you gain in tenure, positioning yourself based on breadth can discount your expertise. 

You know who else positions themselves on breadth? Walmart. They have thousands of products across every consumer category you can think of. But customers rarely choose a them because of general quality. It’s typically for some combination of cost or convenience. Price matching is literally a race to the bottom. It’s a clear sign of commoditization. 

Walmart is obviously a successful enterprise. But you are not a conglomerate. What works for a business with buying power, volume and economies of scale, doesn’t work for individuals. Your greatest asset is time… and it’s finite. 

“You can’t do it all,” someone told me once. They had a C-level title and oversaw half the company. The discussion revolved around outsourcing something strategic that fell within my mandate and I had everything I needed to make it happen. It hit me suddenly that I had a perception problem. 

Between the two of us, his mandate was obviously significantly larger. But he was a strategic leader and I was seen as an executional one. And for this particular project, he didn’t want the discounted option. He wanted the premium brand. Positioning myself on breadth had done me dirty. Being pretty good at everything doesn’t scale.

Fast forward to 2026 where everyone is trying to do everything in record time through AI assistance. I’ve seen more toe stepping and criticism across the marketing industry this year alone than my entire career. “Everyone can” code, design, write copy, you name it. Executional breadth has been cannibalized. 

Often this starts with genuinely pure intentions. Someone has an idea and they feel empowered to pursue it. It becomes a problem when we assume we’re suddenly experts. It becomes the issue marketers have always seen… but on steroids. 

As marketers, we can spend a lot of time considering how we’ll compete and how to differentiate our corporate and product level brands, but we rarely apply these principles to ourselves as professionals. We hear social experts singing the praises of “personal branding” and too often, dismiss it as busyness. Making posts and making sure you’re seen. 

But making sure that when you’re seen it’s in the right light is just as important. That’s what positioning is and it should never be built off all the things you can do. It’s not about your “features”, it’s what you want to be known for. If you’re listing out everything you’ve ever or could do on your LinkedIn, resume and how you think of yourself, that’s what comes across.

We’re always unwittingly approaching new situations with our own compounding frames of reference. Introducing yourself based on everything you can do opens the door to being compared to any of the specialists in those disciplines. Not to mention your predecessor, boss and the top shelf behemoth brands we encounter every day... And now AI. If you’ve been somewhere a while, you may even be being compared to your own shadow. 

Rather than describing your breadth, focus on the value it unlocks. The sweet spot, it’s work:

• You enjoy;
• You’re good at;
• That sits at your unique intersection of experience, ability and perspective.

You likely won’t find it on your own. You need to ask those who’ve worked with you. Feedback of all types— even the painful kinds like the one I shared earlier, can help you find your way. To see what’s working and what really isn’t. 

It can take time. But you’ll know you’ve found it when all those scattered aspects of yourself click. Suddenly, you’re not a generalist anymore. You’re a specialist.

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I build brand and demand. I’ve got a big toolbox at my disposal, but that’s how I help businesses grow and I’m damn good at it.

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