Everyone’s an expert
Many years ago while studying technical writing I was part of a group of managers and directors taking a specialized class called "Train the Trainer" from the University of Illinois.One of the mottos of the class in building training modules was simply stated "Right way, wrong way, our way"
While the philosophy of that statement holds true in virtually any discipline or industry setting, it also creates a conundrum of sorts.Just about everyone can agree on the "wrong way," but how do we determine the proper mix between the "right way and our way"? Most companies will adjust or tweak standard operating procedures to incorporate a company's brand, style, or philosophy into the way they want elements of production done, thus combining the right way with their way making it unique to their particular application.
Case in point; several years later I was hired as a consultant by a commercial printing company to bring a four unit web-printing press on line to run in tandem with an existing eight unit web-printing press.The presses needed to run independent of each other or in full tandem as a twelve-unit press.
The installation, electrical and mechanical hookups were all preformed by various professionals in their particular field.My job was to create a training module that would instruct the operators on the methods of joining and un-joining the two presses.
Understanding the scope the project these same professionals were quickly transformed into experts and went to great lengths to inform and advise as how this task should be done.They were over eager, and each had their own "expert opinion" how the project had to be done.Of course, each scenario presented was not only the "right way, but the only way" it would work
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While these well-intendedindividuals were indeed professionals in their particular field, it quickly became apart that they were not experts in operational applications.
Professionals vs. experts always seem to have a crossover appeal.Conversely, many consider it more of cross contamination of what is known and what is perceived to be known.In broad generalities, a professional is one that is paid for performing services, while an expert is one that has a passion for a particular hobby or interest and learns as much as possible about it.While professionalism and expertise can and do often mix, just as often they don’t.
In the 90’s when Compaq Computer was in its zenith, the company I was working for met with the technical department of Compaq to develop a "Just in Time" format for orders and fulfillment.At the meeting, a hefty note book was handed out with "must follow instructions" After reading it over several times, there was a section in the middle of about 20 pages that were so riddled with Compaq’s inside jargon that it was impossible to comprehend.
When I called Compaq’s technical department to have the pages clarified, I was put in contact with the department head that in turn put me in touch with the technical writer of the manual.
After explaining that we could not make heads or tails out of the jargon, he stated he would get back to me.A few days later I received a call back from the head of the technical department stating that we should just ignore those pages.The reason was that no one within the entire Compaq Computer Company could make heads or tails of the jargon either.
While the writer was an expert writer, he had no expertise what the inside jargon was or what it meant although he could speak it freely. However, having presented himself as a technical expert, and not just a technical writer he simply could not deliver because he did not know what he was talking about.
There is an old adage that states, "you’re an expert if you call yourself an expert." It’s humorous, but also true.You no doubt have met plenty of people who, by education or experience, are classified as experts. And yet those same people are evidently not experts because their skills prove them to be otherwise.
While not an all-inclusivelist here are some basic characteristics that experts should display.
Frankness: Expertise speaks for itself. With very few exceptions, trade secrets are for people who aren’t confident in their abilities that fear you won’t need them if you know what they’re doing. If someone is unwilling or unable to explain to you what they’re doing, it should raise a red flag.
Progressiveness: Experts are constantly looking for new approaches to the problems, they’re good at solving. They should also understand the mistakes that non-experts make, and why they’re mistakes. If you’re expert is dismissive when you explain what you thought might be the problem, it usually means they think they have all the answers. Real experts know they don’t.
Simplicity: An expert should be able to explain to you exactly what they’re doing and why. While every field has its own inside jargon, any real expert can describe their work without using it — jargon is useful within a particular field as a kind of short-hand for complicated concepts or procedures, but has no place when dealing with people outside the field. If they can’t say what they’re doing in language you understand, there’s a good chance they don’t really understand what they’re doing or why.
Obviously a lot is left out of this discussion on expertise. What qualities do you think make someone an expert? What would you tell someone setting out to become an expert at something? And how do you tell if someone’s a real expert or just being an expert at faking being an expert?