How to tell if you're dealing with an expert or not?
You ask a question and listen to their response. If you find yourself thinking, 'Wow, that's so smart!' but end up feeling more confused, then you're likely dealing with an archivist, a memory stick.
His (or her) mind shelves are bursting with books on the subject. Potentially, everything's in there. But alas, there's no one to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Conversing with an expert is different. You're astonished: "Wow! Is it that simple? Can't be." From a vast medical reference book, he extracts one likely diagnosis, not twenty-five.
For the former, the value is the knowledge itself; for the latter, it's what that knowledge helps to accomplish.
Accomplish for whom? The client. That's why expertise is always aimed at solving someone's specific problems. Because only humans have those.
So, an expert is someone who can see and hear you. Otherwise, you're facing a "database." It's not tragic. In that case, you must extract expertise from the database yourself.
For example, an investment fund manager I know told the legal team, "Don't write a dissertation. Identify the three biggest risks of this decision. Just three."
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.
How can I help you?
If you've long been trying to understand what is limiting you and/or your business and how to finally give important changes a push, then The Catalyst Session is designed specifically for you. Book it here.