“Become an expert” I once heard it said, “And you’ll never have to sell again.”  Recognized experts don’t need to sell themselves.  They are given the respect and trust usually afforded only to physicians.  There are other benefits too.

Child psychologists indicate that a wise parent will find one thing that the child can do better than anyone else s/he might know and encourage the pursuit of that.  The self-esteem that comes from that cannot be measured.

In the United States, it’s not difficult to be viewed as an expert.  Writing even an article that gets published is oftentimes all that it takes.  Being interviewed on a radio or television show, conducting a concurrent session at a business conference, or garnering a newspaper article in which you’re quoted in your area of expertise are all other avenues towards ultimately being viewed as an expert.

One of my hobbies is magic and sleight-of-hand.  The joke is oftentimes about the amateur magician who gets his/her first business cards and includes on it all the events at which they can appear:  Birthday Parties, Business Meetings, Trade Shows, Bar Mitzvahs, Weddings, and the list goes on.  Even if the magician was excellent entertaining at all those diverse events, it’s just not believable on the part of the buyer.  It would be much better for that magician to have different brochures and business cards for each of the events.

We tend to trust a specialist quicker than we trust a generalist.

A leader has learned that s/he needs to be known for one thing.  What is that for you?

The book entitled The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan explores this important concept.

Why not download an Executive Summary of the book now?  Click HERE

Categories: Competitive Style, Goal Orientation, Learning