Everywhere you turn there is somebody or something that talks about what “experts” say. And everybody these days thinks they are an expert about something. 

All the TV news stations are filled with talking heads who either claim to be experts themselves or are trumpeting what experts say. Social media overflows with armchair experts who pontificate about everything. Even the folks who don’t claim to be experts are often admonishing people to “follow the science” or pay attention to the “experts” or “officials.”

But who are experts anyway? How did they become experts? 

When it comes to business intelligence, these are crucial questions. Who can you turn to for advice on how to run your business or make improvements? There’s an old joke that the definition of a business consultant is somebody who comes from more than 50 miles away, tells you what your employees have been telling you all along, and then gives you a bill.

Too often, so-called experts or consultants are worse than that. They don’t even bother to interview your employees. They come with some preconceived plan and figure they can shoehorn your shop to fit it. Many don’t even have any practical experience to forge the advice they share. I’m amazed at how often I’ve heard of consultants at major prestigious firms being freshly minted MBAs with little to no practical experience in the real world.

The word expert has its root in a Latin word that means “to try.” Related words such as experience and experiment share the same root and suggest there ought to be some practical history in the resume of a true expert. 

I’ve always given more credibility to the expertise of people who have actually done something over someone who has just read about it. I’ve reported on CNC automation for more than 25 years, but I learned a lot more once I started to actually use a CNC router myself. I’ve been doing that for more than a year, and I would never consider myself an expert. 

Malcolm Gladwell popularized the “10,000 hour rule” based on earlier research that suggested it takes at least 10,000 hours of practice to gain master proficiency at almost anything. That’s equivalent to 20 hours a week for 10 years.

So, should all “experts” have at least 10,000 hours of hands-on experience in their expertise? Maybe. I’ve met people who were unnaturally insightful in their observations, even on things with which they had little experience. I think the real lesson here is to continue to question and test everything, even and especially what supposed experts say. I’ve learned that things I once thought were true did not work as promised in the real world. I’ve found ways of doing things that worked well for me, but I had been previously assured by “experts” that they would not work at all.

Taking advice from consultants and those of similar ilk might be a good starting point, but rigorous testing is always in order. Whatever your politics, maybe Ronald Reagan was right about one thing: “Trust but verify.”