Triangle of Excellence
Do, know, teach.
Every skill has three fundamentals areas of excellence: to do, know, and teach.
Practitioners. One can do what they do very well but know very little about how they do it and how to teach it. Consider the person who can run very fast but be unable to explain or teach you how. (“Just do it”)
Scholars. One can know a lot about a skill but be able to do little of it and be unable to teach it. Consider the person who can explain everything in a sports game but can’t play or teach how to play.
Professors. One can teach what they know and can do, but they know and can do very little compared to the broader overall scope of the skill. Consider the white belt who knows only a few techniques but can teach them well to a newer white belt.
Every skill has three fundamental actions for improvement: to study, practice, and share.
To study is to learn more about what’s possible and to learn more details about what you know is possible. It’s to expand your horizons and improve your depth of understanding.
To practice is to integrate the skill into your nature. It’s to become so familiar that it requires less thought and intention to execute.
To share is to give to others what you know and can do. It’s to demonstrate your abilities and reveal your insights. You can do this in discussions, lectures, and performances.
I believe that for almost any skill, and for almost everyone, there’s a limit to how good you can become without pursuing all three areas of excellence and executing all three actions for improvement.
One can know and do their craft very well, but they can still learn much from teaching it. One can study and practice their craft with great vigor and discipline, but they can still learn much from sharing it.
Every discipline needs people in all corners of the triangle. Without good practitioners, the discipline will be abstract and far from life. Without good scholars, the discipline will stagnate and deep knowledge will get lost. Without good professors, the highest levels of skill will die with the older generations of practitioners and scholars.