Treat skills like financial investments:
Portfolio Allocation
Core Holdings (50%): - Fundamental skills in your domain - Industry-standard tools - Leadership basics - Communication skills
Growth Investments (30%): - Emerging technologies - Cross-functional skills - Advanced techniques - Niche specializations
Speculation (20%): - Cutting-edge tech - Experimental methods - Passion projects - Future bets
Rebalancing Strategy
Annual Skill Audit: - Which skills drove income growth? - What's becoming commoditized? - Where are new premiums emerging? - What should I double down on?
Tom's Year 2 Rebalancing: - Doubled down on automation (high ROI) - Dropped social media courses (low ROI) - Added AI/ML for marketing (emerging) - Deepened analytics expertise (compounding)