Good article Sahil, and very true.

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An expert is for other people to decide, not oneself, I reckon. I prefer “what have you done” – heaps of people read books and blogs and become “experts” by learning that way. Good article!

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I agree and disagree, Sahil.

YES – you should only claim expertise if you’ve actually proven ROI / Results … it seems these days that everyone with a Twitter account is a “Social Media Expert” … they’re off expounding the virtues of their opinions, but their sole achievement is getting people to believe that they are Experts (I wonder though – does this, by default, MAKE them experts? If they convince enough people USING social media, perhaps they are … as long as they’re getting paid …)

That said, if you are an expert – if you really do have the wins – I think you SHOULD talk about it. I think you NEED to tell everyone … how else are they going to be able to differentiate you from the world of “Instant Experts” out there?

Yes, as noted, above, you can wait for other people to proclaim you an expert … and if you’re doing a good job they will … eventually. But personally, I’m not willing to put my entire business in the hands of word-of-mouth referral. Nice when it happens, but not great marketing practice.

Love the distinction between Learning and Knowing – couldn’t agree more. Further distinction on Knowing however …

“If you’re not doing something every day you don’t KNOW it – you know OF it.”

Great post Sahil – much to think about!

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I can’t help but reflect on what drives us when we decide whether or not to post an article by a third party contributor.

Very few Anthill contributors claim to be an ‘expert’. Surprisingly, those that do claim to hold the most ‘learned’ of opinions are usually treated by our crew with scepticism. Instead, what we look for are candid, honest and unusual opinions.

Sometimes these opinions are controversial. Sometimes they generate backlash. But they always get people thinking (even if readers come to their own conclusion that they don’t agree with the author).

Sahil said it. The best way to learn is through experience. The second best way, in my not-so-learned opinion, is to look beyond the norm, challenge common wisdom and decide to do things based on what YOU think will get you the outcome you desire.

Everything else is about informing your decision. But no ‘expert’ or even seasoned entrepreneur will know what’s right for you.

Keep ‘em coming Sahil. Looking forward to your next instalment.

James

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Here’s what I’d add to your thesis, based on what I’ve learned in my career: Your customers define you as the expert. You don’t define yourself as the expert. Plus, this crazy, interesting, fragmented world forces us all to learn all the time. Unless you hide under a rock. Saying “I’m an expert” is also like saying “oh I’m wicked smaht” as they might say here in Massachusetts. Again, others that have worked with you define you as “smart” you don’t define yourself that way. One more point about the Learning piece — personally, when I stop learning in a job, it is time for me to move on. It is the learning that keeps me motivated.

@sarahmontague

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Good article, Sahil.
Plenty of people claim to be experts and some even have a track record to prove it. But even more important is, can they convey their expertise in a meaningful way that is able to help me implement an effective strategy or tactic that realises a positive ROI?

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Great article I definitely agree with Laurel in that it is for others to decide who is an expert or not. Being so young, I would never claim to be an expert, if anything the reason I read your blog and other industry blogs is to make sure that I am continuously learning something new. I think that is far more important than being an expert. There’s always something new to learn!

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Perhaps the question ought to be, ‘if I am already the expert of my own business, how do I find a way to elevate myself beyond my current skill level and expand my vision and who is capable of teaching me?”

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“and fathered the concept of pop-up retailing in Australia…”

oddly, your praiseworthy example is praiseworthy to you because he took a popular concept elsewhere and applied it to the same market in a different demographic region. while I respect Paul’s financial acumen, online the calendar club is a different matter.

You make the point that ROI is one of the key indicators of expertise, but it can also be a key indicator of good luck. You then make the point that one of the people you think of as an expert has failed on the ROI point (regrettably).

While you don’t have much coherence in your article, it’s a refreshing reminder that the hype of many social media savvy people is based on the fact that they spend all their time communicating with crowds instead of working with individuals and companies.

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Sahil Merchant Reply:
April 15th, 2010 at 4:13 pm

Hi John,

I am not at all saying that ROI or originality are indicators of expertise. Rather, both Paul and Domenic have done what they talk about, and in a way that has had financial impacts for a company rather than their own personal brand. My point is that too many people spend their time inflating their own egos. The people I mention above have all created real businesses at scale, and not just reputation based on personal brand puffery.

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John Hancock Reply:
April 15th, 2010 at 4:29 pm

Hi Sahil,

Thanks for clearing that up. I generally completely agreed with the tone of your article (and the comments) but the focus on social media ‘experts’ (twitter and blogosphere-based self promotion experts) made that seem like a big segue.

If you’re in Sydney, very happy to meet for a coffee – what started for me as meeting for coffee ended up in as a sideline in becoming a barista judge. Personal brand puffery is why a lot of the people I respect most don’t go to SWSXi or WebDirections – too many people pontificating at them on stuff they already know, then getting lauded by the masses.

It’d be nice to see more unknowns with insight speaking at conferences and events.

John

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Good article The first question you should ask an expert is” How much he thinks he knows?” if he does not answer the following then beware ” The more I know about my subject the more I realise the less I know “

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JohnH Reply:
April 16th, 2010 at 4:19 am

So that’s true for learning in disciplines like psychology and nuclear physics/philosophy, but it’s not true for specific testable expertise. For instance, many people would qualify as experts in XHTML 1.0 Strict/Transitional or HTML 4.0 or CSS 2.1. Each has a fairly limited amount of grammer/syntax and expertise is at the “total comprehension” level.

An expert could in some ways be better described as “someone who has near-total comprehension of a subject coupled with the ability to apply it to any given situation”.

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What a breath of fresh air! I couldn’t agree more – I’ve spent the last year being completely bombarded by experts in cyberspace who, once they get your email address, start recommending MORE “experts” to yo and before you know it every experts who knows and expert is filling your inbox with regurgitated BS day in and day out. It took me a while to figure it out just by observation over a year but I can now clearly see who’s pushing who and how they support each other – it’s like… “I’ll pretend I’m an expert – you tell everyone on your list & Twitter & FB I’m an expert, and then vice versa – and so on. It’s almost comical now I’ve seen the cycle repeated over and over. As a recovering sucker I am so pleased to see someone put it right out there and risk getting “flamed” (that might not be the correct terminology, remember I’m quite new).

Well done Sahil – your post is the most sense I’ve read for some time – you’d better be careful though, pretty soon someone might say you’re an expert!

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Another good read Sahil… and the usual flow-on of comments your contributions produce, so it seems you are at least an ‘expert’ in producing an interesting exchange of thought.
Shouldn’t we ask all the self-proclaimed ‘Experts’ to show they are ‘Achievers’ and only entertain engaging those that are ?

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Nice article Sahil. Thanks for making the time.

Choose “specialists” over “experts” I reckon. Opinion and noise making “experts” and “gurus” abound. It was even noted the other day that some “gurus” in LinkedIn were being killed off by “ninjas”. *yawn* Really? Another hyped up title?

At the end of the day, titles are meaningless. Self-titled titles even more so.

I was introduced as a “search expert” the other day and had to correct the introduction. I’m a specialist, not an expert. My card reads ‘Inbound Marketer’. It’s a field I have chosen to learn, specialise in and apply commercially. There are people better at it than I. Fact. I’m fine with it, and stay focussed. It doesn’t make me feel the urge to claim a title and jump up and down squealing “look at me! look at me!”.

I think astute business leaders make their own decisions about opinion makers and noisy experts. It’s the business sheep I worry about – when I have time.

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As a long time supplier to Calendar Club I have observed the business for many years. I remember when it started and I doubted whether it could succeed in this market. Paul was working from his apartment, still had a full time job and calendars were just given away for free by your local butcher. Not a great recipe for success in my view. Boy was I wrong!

I saw those guys endure all kinds of hardships and stresses in the first few years and I would have to say it was probably the one of the most difficult start-up I have seen in my 20 years of business. They didn’t have much money to start with and a tiny team yet they were able to grow to nearly 150 stores in two countries in less than seven years. There was never a dull moment with them that was for sure. They also never looked lucky to me, just tired.

Paul and his team were just incredibly driven and this was what made the business successful. Even now, 15 years on from inception, it continues to grow and expand. I guess it was built right from the start.

In the end the numbers produced out of that place were incredible. It might be bold to presume but I think the owners might have produced a “solid” ROI for themselves.
Regarding their online business the main presence for the group is http://www.calendars.com, which is the largest online global seller of calendars. It’s a pretty big business and, as I understand it, very successful.

But ROI is more than this. In this case it took a big gamble to play in a market that did not really exist in Australia (seasonal retailing) creating financial opportunities for all around it – staff, shopping centres and suppliers. Fifteen years later this is all so obvious. But it wasn’t in 1995 and it took big balls and a big dream to pull it off. Unless you’ve done something similar it’s hard to appreciate what it took to get to where Calendar Club did in the short timeframe it did it in.

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Great article Sahil. Experts always get me too, especially those who come out waving their own banner saying “hey look at me, I’m an expert!!”.

I wrote a post on Social Media Experts (http://adagebusiness.posterous.com/social-media-expert-6), and was surprised at the emails I received from people asking if I was referring to them – seemed to me a case of the guilts.

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Interesting piece, and on the whole I tend to agree. Everyone is an expert. I can work my TV and so I am an expert, yet the level of expertise and how it contributes or aids others is a different question.

I think your claim that the 'social media sphere' has more, and to paraphrase: have more experts who know little than any other area might have just left out one very important area, and that is IT, or ICT. I don’t mean the ‘I use a PC or MAC IT groupies’, I mean the SAP's and Oracles of the world.

This is an industry rife with experts, consultants, highly skilled – and to pitch another posters word – specialists.

While the 'social networking' expert lot would have trouble spelling their own name, let alone know anything about what they are an expert in, there is the one very important factor your opinion piece neglects, and that is: my need for an expert.

A basic assumption is that you need an expert, or specialist, or need the views/opinions/advice of an expert because you are trying to do something that you yourself recognise you are not an expert in.

So, social media aside, take the IT industry. I as an MD, CEO, CIO, COO (and the rest) recognise the need for a new, modern, all singing all dancing piece of software to run my business better and smarter. All jokes aside, this is the usual belief and reason for needing this 'upgrade' or 'implementation'.

As the MD et al. I don’t know anything about XYZ product(s). So I call in those who are, or claim to be an expert. I listen, evaluate and ultimately make a decision based on what they say, and what others have to say. If the body of evidence appears to match up then I assume (rightly) they are experts and can/should be able to deliver my requirement.

So, while many who are experts (claim to be) are in fact no more an expert than my 2yr old (had I had one) I can only assume (again, rightly) that those who know something (which is more than me) are in fact what they claim to be – experts.

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I always enjoy your articles Sahil. The thing with stepping back, saying I am not an expert just an observer with an opinion is trick #1 in blogging. You don't claim anything but you are perceived as expert by your readers anyway. Everyone who knows a little bit more or can formulate something in a better way is a expert to those who read/listen/watch his stuff. As Laurel said: Experts are those who are perceived as such by others. So _you_ don't decide if you are an expert. But as in all forms of marketing you can influence the perception of others with some more or less sneaky tricks. Just saying that you are an expert is the very simplest way and you have got 50% of the audience right from the start.

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