Master of None: How a Jack-of-All-Trades Can Still Reach the Top

by Clifford Hudson

In this revelatory memoir, the former CEO of Sonic challenges established thinking, offering counterintuitive career advice essential for every professional at all levels, whether you're just starting out or in the middle of your career.In his bestselling Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell introduced readers to the 10,000-hour rule—the foundation of success in any endeavor. But as Clifford Hudson reveals, there are serious pitfalls to this rule. What happens to those who spend years trying to achieve something that doesn’t quite pan out? Do you really have to grind down the same path for many years, sacrificing priorities to become successful? 

In Master of None, Hudson turns expertise on its head and shows that by embracing variety and becoming more versatile, anyone can succeed and become more open to different opportunities in life. To do so, he provides three basic rules that will see any professional  

Don't plan, exploreDon't specialize, generalizeDon't keep your head down, turn it up toward opportunity In this thought-provoking memoir, Hudson asks whether or not mastery is even necessary to succeed. Most people don't need to be experts in their field. Yes, the successful know more than the average person about a particular topic, and they often possess a better-than-average ability with a particular skillset; but not everyone who is successful is an expert, he makes clear.

More importantly, in today’s technology-driven environment, change is the only constant, including the nature of work and the skills required to do it. Over-investing in expertise is often riskier than learning to be adaptive and open to new knowledge, ideas, and skills. Experience can also lead to overconfidence. And yet we continue to deeply value the expertise ideal. 

Groundbreaking and thought provoking, Master of None is a new way forward to help businesses and professionals at all levels thrive.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Self Help, Leadership

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 13, 2020

About the author

A lifelong student of experiences fueled by unending curiosity, Clifford Hudson has served a number of roles, most notably a Jack-of-all-Trades. As noted in his first book, "Master of None", mastery isn't the only path that leads to success. His career, life and interests are proof.

Clifford spent 35 years at Oklahoma City-based Sonic Corp., where he served as general counsel, chief financial officer, president, chief executive officer and chairman. During his tenure, innovations in business operations created drive-in growth that expanded the company to more than 3,500 locations in 45 states where system-wide sales grew from $800 million to $4.5 billion. Upon his retirement in 2018, Leslie Smith Baugh, daughter of Sonic's founder, Troy Smith, noted that while her father had created the brand, Cliff received the credit for taking it national.

While also at Sonic Corp., he was a member of the Sonic Tones, an eight-member band made up of company executives. He anchored the band as a baritone on the group’s three part harmonies, played rhythm guitar and keyboards, performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, channeling years of glee club onto the big stage.

Beyond the boardroom, Clifford is a fierce advocate for public service. From 1994 to 2001, he served as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), a presidential appointment. He is also a former trustee of the Ford Foundation in New York and is a past chairman of the board of trustees of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Additionally, he led a ten year, $500 million effort to fundamentally improve a 40,000 student, inner-city Oklahoma City Public School system, for which he received the 2012 David T. Kearns Award for Excellence and Innovation in Education.

Reviews

[Brian Sachetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned of this book on The Pomp Podcast. I enjoyed the conversation on that show, so I decided to pick this one up afterward. Though it’s not a bad book by any means, it doesn’t necessarily break a ton of new ground or say much that you haven’t heard before.

The book is also relatively short. That honestly may be a good thing given that it’s slightly lackluster at times; more of the same content probably wouldn’t have helped too much, either.

There are, in fact, parts of this book that I liked, however. The stories from Hudson’s journey at the Sonic fast-food chain fall squarely into that category. I would’ve liked more of those stories, and I think the inclusion of more of them would’ve made this one a bit more exciting.

So, in sum, while this one definitely isn’t terrible, it struggles to create the excitement that some of the other books in its genre do. If you’re a big Sonic fan, then maybe you’ll enjoy it more, but I wouldn’t exactly rush to recommend it given the reasons above.

-Brian Sachetta
Author of “Get Out of Your Head”

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never heard of Clifford Hudson but I'm a fan for life.

The former CEO of Sonic has been a life long activist in civil rights and education reform.
He wrote about what I've been experiencing my whole life: Stability is a myth, we should remain open, ingenuity contains a variety of experiences and YES is a disruptive word.

If you believe you need to follow the traditional path and become an expert in one thing to be successful and fulfilled in life, please read this book. It fell into my lap, auspiciously. I love magical gifts! ✨

[Brendan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Master of None suggests that it is going to challenge "mastery" as the key to success. The thesis is itself vague - is it a counterpoint to the "10,000 hours" mastery proposed by Malcolm Gladwell or to advice that developing an expertise or specializing is the key to success? Regardless, it doesn't live up to its promise. The book is loosely structured as an autobiography of Hudson, who had a long and successful career as CEO of Sonic. The personal history is interspersed with a series of well-worn bromides - be nice to people; be open to new ways of doing things; be willing to take risks, etc. - mixed with oft re-told stories about famous people and examples of these principles in action (Edison with his lightbulb failures makes an appearance). While Hudson's career was interesting, he does not have anything new or insightful to offer here.

While most of the book has a conversational, relatable tone, it occasionally shifts abruptly into tales of complicated corporate maneuvering that were critical to the history of Sonic and Hudson's success. These sections are among the more interesting parts, and I wish there were more of them and less of the trite advice. Hudson also avoids the annoying tendency of autobiographies to give shout-outs to all the amazing people he has encountered, mercifully including a chapter listing all of them in the appendix.

[Jackie F · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very engaging book at all. Extreme lack of substance.. I'm not sure if this book is explicitly intended by the author to be an autobiography, but it essentially ends up feeling like that. This would have been forgivable had the stories of his corporate history been somewhat interesting, but the stories he uses to illustrate the wisdom he is trying to instill onto readers are extremely generic and come across disingenuous at the worst case and sloppy and forced at best. This is your basic, shallow cookie-cutter motivational success story that you'd expect to be saturating that market. Out of the 10 or so chapters, I found only two wherein he managed to keep true to the theme of the book in a decently engaging manner, but the rest seemed more or less like it was written in quick bursts in between long periods of downtime due to a lack of creativity by the author. Not good, but not horrible. All in all, I really can't think of a situation where I could recommend the read.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clifford Hudson has done something very people have done, he's managed to be the CEO of a publicly-traded company for 20+ years. I was really expecting the book to be more a business memoir, where he talks about his upbringing, the journey of him joining Sonic, becoming CEO, and the adversity he faced in growing the company/making it successful.

However, he constantly interweaves the book with stories of OTHER famous leaders or fables from history. He has a history and law degree, so I guess he likes that stuff, but it made those parts of the book very boring and distracting. He is the star we want to hear about HIS story, that's why we're reading HIS book. The parts of the book where he talks about Sonic (and Oklahoma) were enjoyable/interesting, but they are few and far between.

[Ashley Doss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack of all Trades doesn’t seem like a bad thing, until you add Master of None. Most people give this a negative connotation, but the truth is, being a “Jack” give you more leverage and a broader sense of self. Clifford explains just that throughout his book, noting that being a “Jack” means seeking answers from those who may have a better understanding of the task at hand and using that as a learning experience to take into other situations rather than attempting to learn the ins and outs of said task. I plan to put his nine “Rules of Thumb” on a post-it tied to my desktop background at work just as a subtle reminder.

[Wan Shoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Master of None" by Clifford Hudson is a captivating exploration of how embracing one's limitations can actually drive career success. Hudson skillfully highlights the power of adaptability, an open mindset, and a willingness to embrace change in today's fast-evolving work world. In an era of shifting professional landscapes, this book offers indispensable guidance that serves as a powerful reminder – even for those already at the pinnacle of their careers. The cliché "never change a winning team" has lost its relevance, as Hudson compellingly argues. Delve into this insightful read to uncover a wealth of wisdom.

[Divyesh Sheth · Rating 4 out of 5]

CEO of Sonic restaurant makes a compelling case of being curious and dabbling into many different areas rather than specializing in one specific area. He recounts his journey and how he was open to new ideas and empowered his team to execute without him micromanaging and eventually making a decision to sell the company. It is an interesting read and author manages to impart a few good lessons along the way.

[Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

At one point in my life, a few people around me questioned why I was doing so many things at once. They asked if I was bored or clueless about what I wanted to pursue. I then began to question myself as well to the point of unnecessary stress. Reading this book made me realize that I am not on the wrong path after all. I do have my fellow masters of none, and we are just embracing ourselves and our interests.

[Mustafa Jummah · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, the author shared some hard-earned life lessons from the earlier stages of his life to becoming CEO. The idea of being a master or expert in one thing is not about deliberate practice or focusing on one thing in your entire life, but on the overall journey and your ultimate intellectual curiosity.

[Adam Zuwerink · Rating 3 out of 5]

One word book review: Meh.

Another in a long line of authors who think that just because they ran a publicly-traded company, they have something interesting to say. As with most of these type of books, there is nothing wrong or objectionable with it. It's just a very incomplete memoir, and short on substance as a leadership book. One of these days I'll just stop picking up these type of books.

[Genine Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally agree with the author, simply because I am a jack-of-all-trades as well.

Don't limit yourself to one thing - explore your passions and try new things. With hard work, determination, and a willingness to take risks, you can achieve greatness in any field. Embrace your inner generalist and see where it takes you!

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Misnomer. Should be titled, 'How I was at the top & then decided to give myself a cliché monicker.' It’s just another business book with no new insight. I gotta stop grabbing stuff off the display shelves at the local library

[Arion Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few very good lines here. Being interruptible isn't the same as being easily distracted. A quick and easy read that made the case for being open and available when opportunity knocks. Being laser focused can be an attribute while also working against you, just depends on your lens.

[Susan Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was expecting a biography, but this is so much more. It's a book of insights, principles and practices that apply in business and your professional life for sure. And these same insights apply to anything in your personal life you undertake as well.

[Danni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written in a biographical style and the author narrates the audiobook.
We follow Hudson throughout his life and how his choices of not specialising helps him develop professionally. He also mentions a lot of historical individuals and historical facts which I personally enjoyed.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting repackaging of a lot of leadership lessons. I really appreciated the distillation of this principles as they relate to dealing with ubiquitous changes. It's a quick read and I think it would be a great book for teams to read and discuss.

[CB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and inspiring. Fear of the unknown has prevented me from making changes in life. This book is a reminder that change is inevitable and stability is a myth. Stay flexible and view interruptions as opportunities for new ideas.

[Tom Withers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Dude seems a little squishy at times, but he's definitely backed it all up with receipts, so I don't hold it against him. Basically just a memoir about how cool he is. Which is fine. Not a bad book at all, but not something I'll be out evangelizing for.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that encourages divergent thinking. Appreciated the variety of historic and contemporary examples that gave life to the stories.

[Anchorfjord · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant jack of all trades master of none approach!

[Lylia · Rating 3 out of 5]

straightforward, taking what i can, nothing that deep.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of resonance for today's world in life and leadership.

[Laila · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved this memoir !!