In the early years of my career, I thought, “the more I know, the more valuable I’ll be.” With this mindset, for a period, I tried to learn a new language, a new framework almost every week. However, I learned the real lesson when I found the most critical performance issue of a production ERP in a PostgreSQL setting that no one else was looking at; at that moment, I understood that less but deep focus is infinitely more valuable than broad but superficial knowledge.
This experience fundamentally changed my perspective on technology and career. I clearly saw that having “moderate” knowledge across a wide range of topics was not as effective as having “specialized” knowledge in a specific area. Focusing less but deeply not only solved my technical problems but also made me a more valuable and sought-after professional.
Why is the “Know Everything” Fallacy Dangerous?
The world of technology presents us with a new framework, a new language, or a new tool every day. This constant flow of innovation pushes one to think, “should I learn this too?” I, too, fell into this trap; for a while, I tried to look at many things simultaneously, from Java to Go, React to Vue.
This effort to broaden my knowledge initially gave me confidence, but it actually slowed me down. Knowing a little bit about everything meant knowing nothing fully, and I realized I couldn’t delve into real depth when facing complex problems. For example, when I started investigating an unexpected CPU spike on a server, I had superficial knowledge of many layers, from Linux kernel modules to Nginx configurations, PostgreSQL query planners to cgroup limits, but I wasn’t deep enough in any of them.
How Did Focus Save Me?
The turning point for me began with learning to say “no.” Instead of jumping on everything popular, I gravitated towards areas I felt close to and believed I could truly impact: system architecture, network infrastructures, and enterprise software operations. As I started to deepen my knowledge in these areas, I could look at the problems I encountered with a different perspective.
I remember a “random slowdown” issue in a client’s ERP that was constantly happening and no one could understand. On the surface, the application or database was slow. But when I started examining MTU/MSS mismatches in the network layer or journald rate limits in the Linux system, I saw that the problem wasn’t coming from the application itself, but from deeper layers of the infrastructure. This in-depth perspective allowed us to find the true source of the problem.
# Example journald rate limit error (not actual output, example scenario)
# journald applies limits to control log flow
# This can drop your application logs and make debugging difficult.
# Such errors can affect the overall stability of the system.
systemd-journald[123]: Suppressed 500 messages from _SYSTEMD_UNIT=my_service.serviceSuch in-depth analyses increased my confidence in my field and allowed me to approach problems not just as code or SQL, but from a holistic system perspective. Understanding WAL bloat issues in PostgreSQL, seeing how Redis’s OOM eviction policy choices affect application behavior, or detecting switch loops in the network, all became possible only with this deep focus.
What is the True Value of Deepening?
The greatest value of deep focus is being able to answer the question “why.” When you encounter a problem, being able to answer not just “how to solve it” but also “why did it occur” sets you apart. This enables you to make architectural decisions not just for bug fixing, but to prevent similar problems in the future.
For me, this meant, when doing AI-driven production planning in a production ERP, deeply understanding not just the algorithms, but also the integrity of data flow, latency requirements, and integration points between different systems. A superficial developer might write good algorithms, but they wouldn’t see where that data came from, under what conditions it was consistent, or the potential bottlenecks of an iSCSI supply chain integration. This is a true “full-stack” understanding; knowing not just the technology, but the business workflow in depth.
Deepening also allows you to become a true authority on a subject. Being able to talk about a topic for hours, analyze different scenarios, and simplify complex systems to explain them only comes with this depth. This gives you not only a technical but also a strategic advantage.
How Did I Choose and Maintain My Focus Area?
When choosing my focus area, I preferred topics that I was both interested in and that could touch real-world problems. For me, this means getting to the heart of systems, understanding the veins of the network, and seeing that software is not just a pile of code, but a reflection of an organizational flow. Even in my side products (like an Android spam blocker or custom financial calculators), I tried to build more robust and reliable systems by using this deep understanding.
Maintaining my focus area meant continuing to say “no.” Instead of trying every new tool that came out, I continued to reinforce and deepen my existing knowledge. This doesn’t mean I stopped learning; on the contrary, I focused on learning less but more effectively. Instead of learning something new, delving into the intricacies of a topic I already knew, seeing how it behaved in different scenarios, became more valuable to me.
For example, I delved so deeply into PostgreSQL performance tuning that to understand why a query was slow, I didn’t just read the EXPLAIN ANALYZE output; I could predict why the planner made that decision, what the statistics were like, or the effect of WAL bloat on the current situation. This level of understanding saved me time and allowed me to produce more reliable solutions.
Conclusion: Deepening is Stronger Than Broadening
Instead of swimming in a broad pool of technology, diving deep into a specific area added much more value to my career. This isn’t to say “you shouldn’t know everything,” but rather “don’t try to know everything.” Focusing your energy and time on areas where you can truly make an impact will be more satisfying for you and will put you a step ahead in your career.
So, what do you think? Has there been a moment in your career where you felt the power of “less but deep” focus? Or are you still struggling with the “know everything” fallacy? I’m curious to hear about your experiences.