What Does It Mean to Be An EXPERT™?

By John Storm, BrainStorm Network

There’s a lot of talk these days about Experts and Expertise. You’ll find plenty of people claiming to be experts in nearly all areas of life. In the business world alone, you’ll discover a plethora of experts in strategic planning, marketing, customer service, travel, new product development, etc. Most of these can stake a legitimate claim to this title based on their knowledge and experiences.

Yet, a valuable expert is someone whose claim goes far beyond what they’ve experienced and learned from many years in a certain field, profession, or hobby. Ideally, there should be other credentials that make their expertise of greater value to those who need or use their services. These additional factors include:

• • Evidence of unique contributions through their own ideas, theories, and concepts

• • An obvious affinity or passion for their subject

• • Third party confirmation from satisfied clients, students and/or peers in their field

• • The ability to “transfer” their expertise into practically useful communication (writings, speaking, etc.), systems, and products

In an effort to provide more comprehensive guidelines for evaluating experts in any field, try using the acronym EXPERT™. These six key areas serve as a useful tool for comparing a wide range of experts (consultants, speakers, expert witnesses, etc.), regardless of their particular field.

EXPERIENCE


- Real world experience in the subject or field

- Personal involvement in the trends, nuances, successes, failures within the field



XPERTISE


- Awareness of historical and current models and theories within the area of expertise

- Original thought and contributions within the subject or field

PASSION


- Enthusiasm and ‘love’ of the subject or field

- Visible energy that is intriguing, compelling, and/or contagious

EXCELLENCE

- Dedication to expanding the body of knowledge in the field or subject

- Commitment to personal intellectual growth and lifelong learning



RECOGNITION

- Public recognition by clients, customers, participants , and/or peers

- Written or published work within the field



TRANSFERABILITY


- Ideas, Concepts, and Theories that are transferable to others

- Practical, useful Tools and Techniques which further progress, education, growth

Whether your need for an expert ranges from helpful information by experts used in the media or your organization’s research into hiring a valuable consultant, keep the EXPERT™ acronym tool in mind as you evaluate the claims of those who call themselves experts.

© 2003 John Storm

John Storm is The Idea Expert™ whose mission is to bring Your ideas to LIFE!™ His expertise focuses on helping people discover, evaluate and implement their ideas. You can find other resources at  http://www.brainstormnetwork.org/