So far we've been talking a lot about experience. Now let's talk about expertise. In this video, I want to explain why it's actually not so easy being an expert. Experts are supposed to know their subject matter better than most anyone out there, right? That's not easy. We get that, especially with the pace of new developments, technologies, and global competition and innovation. Unfortunately, what can happen is rather than not know enough, some people overestimate what it is that they do know, and this could have disastrous consequences. Worst of all is when your deep knowledge and experience leaves you incurious, blinkered, vulnerable, even in your own field of expertise. I mean, it sounds a bit odd, but it happens all the time. When Apple first release its iPhone, for example, technology experts were quick to call it a failure. In fact, the leadership at Blackberry were laughing at it. They didn't understand, they didn't have that killer app. Then Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, who'd been steeped in the company's PC and connected computing business culture, he proclaimed that a device without the traditional QWERTY, Q-W-E-R-T-Y keypad, had no chance of garnering significant market share. For some time now, large retailers have struggle to compete with Amazon because senior executives have relied too much on their established expertise as merchandisers and unfamiliar tactics like store design, closures, alterations to the marketing mix, etc. In each of these cases, experts assumed that what they knew was right and always would be. But as reality shifts, that closemindedness led to poor execution, subpar results and sometimes disastrous results. When we begin to identify as experts, our outlook can narrow both in daily work and in times of crisis. We become reluctant to admit mistakes and failings, and that hinders our development. We distance ourselves from those beneath us, making it harder to learn from others and earn their affection and trust. As the dynamics of our businesses change, we risk being bypassed or replaced by colleagues on the rise or outsiders adapt at learning new things or even artificial intelligence algorithms that could perform wrote tasks faster and better than we can. Over time, the very expertise that led to our success can leave us feeling unhappy, unsatisfied, and stuck. The next application exercise is a really important one. It's a self-assessment to see if you are potentially falling into the expertise trap. This exercise is valuable not only for more established or the most established managers or senior managers or executives, but it's also valuable even if you're starting out or early in your career. That's because it's going to give you an inventory of a watch-outs that you can and should keep track of as you gain experience and as you try to minimize the odds of falling into this expertise trap. The irony is that so many people are striving to become experts. Of course, that's good. Don't get me wrong. It's great, it's excellent to try to become an expert. I hope you are and will become one of those people, but we sometimes forget just how tough it is to stay at the top and those very human tendencies to become overconfident, to believe we know more than others, to become complacent. These human tendencies, these pitfalls are dangerous, and they may lead us to making maybe decisions that are not quite the right ones for us and could affect our careers as well. It's not easy being an expert, is it? Now I'm telling you that once you get closer to being that expert, you got to stay on your toes to ensure your expertise stays relevant, current, and meaningful. It's just the way it is. The following application exercise and the video that follows that, I think, are going to help you a lot.
