[robcohen]

This is a tricky issue to struggle with, and I've done a fair amount of thinking on this. I think that it's worthwhile to become knowledgeable and capable in everything that you hire someone for. There are exceptions which are impossible, like being a doctor, but by and large I think most work is learnable. I just don't think it's okay to say "oh I'm just not a math person, or a person who does physical labor, or a person who can fix a car". Certainly, learning a variety of fields takes time and isn't economically optimal, but that's not what's important.

In the example of cleaning your own home, everyone should be able to do that barring a disability. Learn how to do it, learn to do it well, then offload it to someone else and routinely ensure you know how to do it well. I think a similar approach is useful in business as well. I think middle managers and execs give themselves way too strong of a pass on understanding how to actually do the jobs in their own company. This is partially why so many managers have almost no idea how their internal systems actually work.

Anyway, diatribe over.