Jack of all trades, but master of none

A lot of people know this saying. And even more know only the first bit. And they've all internalized it one way or the other.

A Jack of all trades. Someone who's good at everything.

A jack of all trades, but master of none. Someone who has approximate knowledge of many things, but cannot do one thing right end-to end.

Well, these people don't know that this is only the first half of the saying: "Jack of all trades and master of none, but better to be good at many things instead of great at just one."

What do I mean by this? Or what does the saying mean by it? And why is it so important?

Imagine there's a guy who's been around cars a lot. I mean A LOT! We'll call him...Jack. Seems fitting. He's a good driver, but not the best. Not even second best. He knows mechanics, but he's no expert. He'll change a tire and knows how to fix the most commonly encountered issues. He's seen plenty of races of all types, even analyzed some race tracks, but he's never actually been in one. He knows car manufacturers and their background, tendencies in media coverage, best practices in most motorized sports without all the specifics - or nuts and bolts, if you'll allow me the pun - and so on.

Now Jack likes to talk about cars. To everyone. All the time. He's happy to go into the subject with anyone who listens. And - thankfully - from time to time he even meets people with a bit of extra know-how on certain subjects, and internalizes that data.

One day, Jack gets lucky. He's at a bar and talks to a guy who happens to own a small racing team. Jack knows enough to give what might be called an elevator pitch. And the guy - let's call him Ford - likes what he sees in Jack. He says "How about you come and look at my business? I'll give you a tour of the facilities."

Jack's really excited! An actual view of the inner-workings of his greatest passion!

So a few days later, Jack goes to Ford's shop and is - at first - wowed by what he sees. He gets to meet the pit crew, the race coordinators, the legal team, even the drivers! This is AWESOME!

But the more he sees, the less excited and more analytical Jack gets. His background knowledge kicks in. In the middle of conversations he finds himself asking questions that put the crews in rather a bad mood. "Why not swap for diesel?" "Why not change the tires?" "Wouldn't it be better to try this kind of media presentation?" "This track is known to create difficulties under these conditions." "I've seen this and that, couldn't it be replicated here?"

Nobody seems to like this. The pit crew say they know what they're doing. So does the driver. And the legal team. And so on.

The only one that has a smile on his face is Ford, looking from a distance.

Jack leaves, a bit dejected. Not what he had hoped from his first real racing experience. He's more annoyed with himself. He really shouldn't have said those things, he tells himself. Who's he to butt in on professionals and offer his opinion?

The next day, Jack gets a call. It's Ford. "Do you have time for a quick lunch?" he says. Of course Jack agrees.

Over lunch, Jack and Ford discuss many things. It's clear to Jack that Ford doesn't understand all the intricacies of motor sports, but that he's very passionate about it AND has the funds to support it. Still, it's nice to sit down and have a talk about his hobby.

At the end of lunch, Ford looks Jack dead in the eye and says "Son, do you know what's wrong with my team?" Jack's taken aback, but cautiously points out a few things he'd noticed while in the shop. Ford urges him on, picking at his mind, Jack dishing out answer after answer, hypothesizing here and there, but very certain about quite a few things that could be done better, given a broader scope with several teams involved.

Jack even boldly strikes up some suggestions - probably shouldn't have had that Margarita Ford so graciously offered him. Either way, a good day. Jack leaves with a sense of accomplishment. At least he managed to talk about what he likes, and Ford seemed to enjoy it.

A week later, Ford calls again. "Son, you know what's wrong with my team. How do we get this done?" Jack is in shock. But Jack also has an answer.

Now it's up to Jack.

It's also up to Ford. But that's a story for a different time.