To Listen To Or Ignore The Experts?

Written by a human, for humans, always.

You may have heard the stories...

Where someone was told that they did not have a problem...

But knew something was wrong...

And kept searching to find the answer until they found someone who discovered they were right the whole time.

Or what about the stories...

Of the person with an idea...

But people kept rejecting that idea, saying it would never work...

Yet they believed in it so much that eventually, they made it work...

And everyone who doubted it was either dumbstruck or left in regret?

There are many stories that go like this...

Where someone was told something by an expert or group of experts...

They decided not to listen to those experts...

And they proved the experts wrong.

It is a really compelling tale.

At the same time...

There are many people who ignore the experts...

Only to discover that the experts were right the entire time.

But...

Sometimes...

They only come to figure that out far too late...

And something catastrophic occurs.

There are times when it is extremely wise to listen to the experts.

But when you have these two competing tales...

The question often becomes...

Which direction should you lean in your own life?

Most people rely on their gut feelings when they consider this...

Which is not always the best way to approach life.

But...

We can ask some questions that can illuminate the problems...

Which may allow us to answer them better.

I have 8 questions worth asking to determine if it makes sense to ignore the experts...

Or if you're better off listening to them.

The first question is...

What are they looking for?

When people look at a situation, a question, or a problem...

Often they are not looking at it the same way...

And that can create challenges around whether to listen to the experts or not.

Let's get into an example here...

Modern Conventional Medicine.

There are many people who have ignored their conventional doctor...

Only to discover they had a real problem...

While others have ignored their doctors...

And perished from something that could have been avoided.

How is it that we can get these two stories?

Is it that some doctors are just incompetent?

Maybe...

But it takes a lot of hard work and education to become a doctor...

So incompetence is rarely the reason.

Far more often...

The problem is what most Modern Conventional Doctors are looking for...

Versus what the patient is looking for.

In the stories where the doctors at least appear to be wrong...

It is usually because the doctors are "looking" for anything that is life-threatening...

That is very common.

When the doctors are wrong in this scenario...

The reason is either because there was a specific life-threatening problem that was "very" rare, so most are unaware of what to look for...

Or...

It is because whatever the patient is going through is not life-threatening...

But that also does not necessarily mean they are "healthy"...

And that is a very different outcome.

Most Modern Conventional Doctors are trained to prevent death...

Not help people become truly healthy.

That is not a bad thing...

It is just a difference in goals.

If the doctor in this situation is not trained to help you live an optimal life...

It may be good that they "do not see anything wrong"...

That means you do not appear to be dying, and that is great!

And simultaneously...

They may not have the answer for how to feel better overall because that is not what they are looking for in your doctor's visit.

But...

If they see something is really wrong...

And you decide not to listen to them at all...

Then it may be a gigantic risk because they already see something that "is" life-threatening...

And ignoring that could be the last mistake you make.

If you are aligned in what you are looking for...

It may be good to pay attention to what the expert is saying...

But if there is a misalignment in what you are looking for...

Perhaps you should ask some more questions.

Which brings us to the second question...

Are they looking at the whole picture or only a part of the picture?

Some experts are absolutely stunning at what they know...

But what they know may only be a limited area of expertise.

Their knowledge in something is like a very specific tool...

If you have the right tool for the job, it is incredible...

And...

If you have the wrong tool...

It could actually make everything significantly worse.

When experts become really good at something...

Very often they become siloed in their knowledge and how it impacts other areas...

And that can become problematic.

Consider a salesman who is landing 6-figure contracts with a client...

Seems wonderful...

Is landing new deals with that same client every 4 months.

What could be the problem there?

What if that same salesman does not understand accounts receivable and contracts...

And that salesman is allowing clients to have net 180 payment terms (client is not obligated to pay anything for six months)...

And...

When the client signs a new contract...

The contract says they are relieved of any unpaid bills from previous contracts.

What this means...

Is that this salesman is making 6-figure deals...

Where the client never has to pay anything...

Because they are relieved of any unpaid bills every 4 months...

But did not have to start paying anything for 6 months.

That may sound crazy...

But I actually worked in an organization where I discovered this was happening.

The salesperson thought they were killing deals...

The services team was doing amazing work and delivering perfectly...

The CEO thought everything looked great...

But the CFO was struggling to understand why the company was not making money...

And it was because a salesperson was only looking at a small part of the picture without a clue of the larger impact.

Experts are often like this...

And you need to pay attention to whether they are looking at the larger picture...

Or if their vision is limited to what they are experts at.

Which brings us to our third question...

Is the expert invested in what is happening, or are they dismissive?

Something that happens often...

Is that experts are invested in certain things...

And not invested in others.

That is not a good or bad thing...

We are all human and have a limited amount of time, energy, and focus.

We cannot be invested in everything all the time.

But...

If you ask an expert something...

And they seem not to be deeply invested...

They may not be applying their expertise at the highest levels...

Or...

They may not have enough expertise in the specific problem at hand.

Pay attention to how invested they are...

Because the more invested someone is in something...

The higher the likelihood they have to figure out the right answers...

And the less invested...

The less likely.

For our fourth question...

Are they focused on the past, or considering the future?

Many experts...

Are experts at "what was".

That is not a bad thing...

But...

What it also means is that they are frequently bad at understanding "what could be".

Becoming a master at what exists requires someone to follow a playbook...

Learn lessons...

And understand the patterns that have been found.

But...

To consider the future...

Requires a very different set of skills.

It requires you to ask questions instead of following directions...

To look for gaps purposefully...

To become comfortable with not having the answers...

To consider probabilities and possibilities instead of knowing absolutes.

Many people do not have the skills to do that at all...

Let alone successfully.

At the same time...

The person who is future-focused may not be as great at answering what currently is...

Because they dedicate so much time and effort to what could be...

That they simply are not as invested in what currently exists as other experts.

So...

If you have something that is deeply rooted in what exists now...

You want an expert who is past-focused...

And if you are considering something that is future-focused...

You want an expert who can think and consider the world in a different way.

Both types of experts are needed...

You just need to make sure you are aligned with them before you consider advice.

The fifth question at hand...

Is whether that expert is in growth or decay?

Now, this may sound simple...

But what most people fail to understand...

Is that many experts "appear" to be successful...

And success often makes us "believe" there is growth going on...

But that is not always the case.

Many experts sit on their laurels...

May no longer do the "day-to-day" because of their success...

And they may have other problems in their lives as well...

All of which actually means they are in states of decay.

Here is another thing to consider...

In biological systems...

Which we all exist within (A business is itself a biological system, whether most leaders recognize it or not)...

There is no such thing as stagnation.

It does not happen.

There is either growth or decay.

The appearance of "stagnation" is one of two things...

Either small increases and decreases of growth and decay that "appear" to be a straight line when seen from a distance...

Or...

More often, especially around where we see "success"...

It is a very slow grade that is moving downward at a small pace...

Until...

It begins to cascade downward...

But by the time people realize that...

It may be too late to change the trajectory.

The point is...

Not everything that appears like growth...

Is actually positive growth.

Many organizations in today's world...

Are actually in what would be classified as "negative growth"...

The garden has seeds that are growing...

But what is growing are valueless weeds that are stealing nutrients from the garden...

Until, eventually, the garden is absolutely destroyed.

Many experts appear to be successful...

But they are actually in states of decay.

So be wary of the advice you are listening to...

Because many people are listening to the advice of people who are in active decay...

And the result is that listening to that advice...

Will cause you to go into a state of decay as well.

The sixth question is...

Is the expert willing to tell you the truth, or are they a sycophant?

See...

Many experts that exist in the world today...

Are really only concerned about their own success...

And one of the fastest ways to become successful from a shallow point of view...

Is to find the right person...

And tell them everything they want to hear...

Regardless of what that means for that person.

This happens with all sorts of "experts"...

From people in businesses who are trying to rise the ranks...

To therapists who are sycophants with their clients.

The reason that sycophants often rise up...

Is because they know that telling people what they want to hear often leads to their success...

But it usually comes at the expense of the person listening to the sycophant.

Many people listen to "experts" who are sycophants...

And it becomes extremely costly...

Sometimes to the point of irrevocable harm.

One of the greatest pieces of advice that I can give you...

Is to listen to people you disagree with...

Or who say things you do not want to hear.

Why?

Those are the types of people you know are not afraid to disagree with you...

And you also know they are not just telling you what you want to hear.

They may be right or wrong...

That is beside the point.

People who disagree with you openly (or at least directly to you in private)...

Are the type of people who are more likely to tell you the truth...

Even if you do not want to hear it.

It is better to hear someone who is against you, even if they are wrong...

Than to surround yourself with people who only tell you what you want to hear...

Even if it is harmful to you.

For our seventh question...

Is the expert able to make logical claims, or does their logic fall apart upon closer inspection?

There are many people who, on outward appearances, sound and appear great.

But...

Sounding and looking right is not always an indicator that someone should be trusted.

There is an old term we have...

A wolf in sheep's clothing.

What most of these types of individuals utilize...

Is what appears to be logical...

But...

It is a very shallow logic.

Often they play into emotions, purposefully, so that people are less likely to look more deeply at the logic.

But...

If you are wise...

You will inspect the logic of anyone who claims to be an expert.

What you will often find...

Is that logic, upon closer inspection, begins to fall apart.

The closer you look...

The more it falls apart.

What sounds good at one level...

Fails at the next level.

I have heard people use terms in the world...

Which sound good in a debate...

But when you actually look more closely at the definitions of these words or the history around those words...

Proves that the logic makes absolutely no sense.

When in doubt...

Follow the logic.

Look at definitions very closely.

Pay attention to history from multiple perspectives.

What you often find...

Is that people use logical fallacies to sound better...

They use words where the definitions do not truly fit into the situation...

And they tell a history that does not match any aspect of how history is understood.

What's worse...

Is that most people "think" they are logical...

But they are really parroting things that are highly illogical upon closer inspection.

Do the actual homework...

And you will discover that many things you believe are true...

Make no sense when you look more closely.

For our final question...

Are they an ethical or unethical individual?

Some people may disagree with me on this specific question...

Saying that even unethical people can deliver good results in their areas of expertise...

And that may be true...

But this is also what I know...

People who are unethical in one area of life are usually unethical in other areas.

Things may seem good in one respect...

But be hiding something corrupting in another respect.

And...

Following what an unethical person does in one area of life...

Makes it more likely for you to follow them again...

And that becomes the danger.

They say that the path to Hell is littered with good intentions...

And that is because being unethical in one area of life tends to cause people to become more and more unethical...

Even if their intentions appear positive.

Here is where it will become tricky for most people...

How do you know that the ethics you believe in are positive for the world?

How do you know that the ethics you follow are not based on your own tendency toward sycophancy?

How do you know that you are not trapped in confirmation bias?

The answer...

Can also be discovered with the questions we have asked before.

Good ethics can follow a consistent logic.

Good ethics looks at and aligns with the whole picture.

Good ethics can be traced through history.

Good ethics tells us what we need to hear instead of what we want to hear.

Good ethics causes growth in our lives instead of decay.

Good ethics applies to the past and the future equally.

Good ethics calls out the truth, even when it does not look good.

Most people do not assess their own ethics to this level of detail...

And it shows in the results they obtain in life...

Either as individuals or as a community.

This is why it is important to ask the question, though...

Because failing to investigate the ethics of the experts you follow...

Often is a path that leads to deep problems for you.

When we combine these eight questions...

We begin to gain a much clearer picture...

About when it is wise to listen to experts...

And...

When it is wiser to ignore those recognized as experts.

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