The Daily Stat: If You're a Specialist, You're a Victim of Bias

Are you having trouble viewing this email? If so, click here to see it in a web browser. HOME   |   BLOGS   |   THE MAGAZINE   |   BOOKS   |   AUTHORS   |   STORE RSS   |   Mobile JANUARY 24, 2013 If You're a Specialist, You're a Victim of Bias Business and sports recruiters tend to be biased toward generalists over specialists. In a series of experiments, Long Wang of the City University of Hong Kong and J. Keith Murnighan of Northwestern University found, for example, that people who were recruiting players for a fictitious game chose generalists at least 70% of the time, even though a specialist was clearly the optimal choice. And salary figures from the National Basketball Association show that even though three-point shooters are crucial to success, teams reward two-point shooters for their two-point shooting but don't reward three-point specialists for their three-point shooting. Many organizations overvalue generalists and overlook the contributions of specialists, the researchers say. Source: The Generalist Bias Share Today's Stat: FEATURED PRODUCT HBR Guide to Better Business Writing Ebook Now Available Don't let your writing hold you back. When you're fumbling for words and pressed for time, you might be tempted to dismiss good business writing as a nicety. But it's a skill you must cultivate to succeed. You'll lose time, money, and influence if your e-mails, proposals, and other important documents fail to win people over. Writing expert Bryan A. Garner gives you the tools you need to express your ideas clearly and persuasively so clients, colleagues, stakeholders, and partners will get behind them. Learn how to push past writer's block, keep the reader's attention, earn credibility, strike the right tone and much more. ADVERTISEMENT Follow the Stat: BEST SELLERS HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials HBR's 10 Must Reads Boxed Set HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations HBR Guide to Better Business Writing HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done PREVIOUS STATS Why You Should Emphasize Your Potential Rather Than Your Achievement on Your CV A Fishy Smell Makes People More Suspicious Social Exclusion Makes People Value Money More Airlines Discount Tickets That Are Bought on Weekends Telecommuters Are More Productive on Creative Tasks, Less on Dull Ones Fertility Rates Decline in Europe as Economy Lags Do You Think of Time as Proceeding Left to Right or Right to Left? Big Rise in MBAs Makes the Degree Less Exclusive Many Russian Doctoral Students Purchase Their Dissertations For Sales Jobs, Your Résumé Should Tout Your Math Skills Introducing Mobile ManageMentor Powered by the proven content of Harvard ManageMentor™ iTunes >> Android >> UNSUBSCRIBE   |   UPDATE YOUR PROFILE   |   MORE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS   |   PRIVACY POLICY Was this email forwarded to you? If so, sign up to start receiving your own copy. ABOUT THIS MAILING LIST You have received this message because you subscribed to the "The Daily Stat" email newsletter from Harvard Business Review. If at any point you wish to remove yourself from this list, change your email address, or sign up for other email newsletters and alerts, please visit the Harvard Business Review Email Newsletter Preference Center. OPT OUT If you do not wish to receive any email messages from Harvard Business Review, click here. ADVERTISE WITH HBR This enewsletter is read by thousands of decision makers every day. Learn more about connecting your brand with this audience. Copyright © 2013 Harvard Business School Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing | 60 Harvard Way | Boston, MA 02163 Customer Service: 800-545-7685 (+1-617-783-7600 outside the U.S. and Canada)