Experts vs. Rock Stars

      There exists a little known, yet common sense, benchmark for an Expert.  An expert is a person who has over 10,000 hours learning and improving a specific skill.  Our society has experts in all endeavors.    Only "Caveat Emptor" allows a Society to have a chance to shape its own destiny by use of experts.  Life, quite naturally, gets complicated when decisions and one's destiny are based on money/friendship/ease as opposed to making decisions based on actual qualifications.

      When I learned of the Expert Benchmark, I sat down at my computer and created an Excel Spreadsheet to personally evaluate the Expert theory. The results of my study were quite illuminating.  I have (36,360/hrs - Computer-APL,EDL,PC), (31,040/hrs - Builder), (16,381/hrs - Design), (16,920/hrs - Autocad), (14,880/hrs - Archicad), (23,920/hrs - Reading), (5,600/hrs - Baseball), (11,552/hrs - Golf), (4,512/hrs - Skeet).  I therefore have several areas of expertise and hundreds of areas of little to no expertise. 

     For several years, around 2005, I did consulting work for a company in Budapest.  At a corporate meeting in Prague the leaders of that company stated their new desire to hire "Rock Stars" to promote and teach their product.  As you might guess, the CEO of this Budapest company considered himself a "Rock Star" and quite naturally he surrounded himself with "Rock Stars."  During his reign, the company came on lean times and sold out to a company in Germany.  Germans being Germans, had a concept of rebuilding the company with "Experts."  This company once again produces one of the world's premier products now that they have the proper job description for "Rock Stars," promote, and let the Experts shape the company’s critical path.

     One of the greatest contemporary proofs of "Experts" vs. "Rock Stars" is illuminated by the experience of the Oakland Athletics in the book and the movie, "Moneyball."   The Oakland Athletics changed ownership.  New ownership cut the budget for the baseball team by 70%.  Circumstances put together a computer "nerd" and a "failed" baseball player.  The diligence of this unlikely combination revealed that most players were overvalued and judged by mostly by their "Rock Star" status.  When these newly forced enlightened leaders signed players based on ability and not "Rock Star" status they were able to compete with and win with a third of the money that other teams spent.  It is not an accident that the Texas Rangers were successful during 2010 and 2011.  The Ranger's Manager was trained by the Oakland "Moneyball" administration. Nolan Ryan, one of the Ranger's current owners, knows, by his extreme dedication, that only hard work creates experts.  "Experts," not "Rock Stars," provide leadership for a winning combination.

     For years I enjoyed and trusted Charlie Gipson on "Good Morning America."  After watching Charlie for years, I realized that what I appreciated the most about Charlie; Charlie was egoless.  Comparison is necessary for real appreciation.  It is sad to me, and creates a real irritation, to have to listen to the Rock Stars that have taken over the news, our government and business in general.  We clearly need more workhorses and far fewer showhorses in the leadership positions.  "Rock Stars" consume too much energy which is consumed for their own needs.

     Life could be pretty great if we took an Oakland Athletics approach and actually elected officials and hired people based on the objective Expert evaluation.

     Below is a perfect example of our self-designated, media made, Rock Stars.  Harry Reid and Joe Biden.  This image was on the internet on January 1, 2013.  How can a man that was hired to do a job, that he has willfully neglected and abused, have a smile on his face?  Pride instead of Shame?

 

     I had the privilege to instruct 2 employees of Clark Construction, out of Bethesda, in New York City.  The 2 Clark Construction employees highlighted the extremes between a Rock Star and an Expert.  The Rock Star (CRS, i.e. Clark Rock Star), as you might imagine wore an expensive as hell suit and was a graduate of Penn State, the most almighty school in the world.  The Expert was a crusty, grumpy old thing (Riff) that had worked for Clark for many years in many company positions.  When I met the two, Riff was highly annoyed at how abusively the Rock Stars out of Budapest had treated Clark Construction.  I told Riff and the CRS that I was there to help them and for them to take a seat and that I would teach them something.  Riff and I shared 3 intensive days and evenings of mutual learning in NYC.  The CRS really couldn't be bothered.  He spent all his time putting together his presentation (collecting BIG buzzzz words) for Clark Construction when he got back to the office so he could retain his Rock Star status while learning very little.

     On several occasions I have visited Riff at Clark Construction in Bethesda.  Of course I was overwhelmed by the scope and stature of work that Clark performed.  Symphony halls, stadiums, everything.  Riff had his own little office, way back in the back, where he saved the company hundreds of thousands of dollars per day with his expertise.  All the while, the CRSs would parade by and ask why in the world he was working with those silly 3d models.  Riff performed his magic with a relatively cheap but highly effective software know as "Light Wave."  "Light Wave" was just like Riff, it simply did its job without fanfare while enduring the ridicule from the Rock Stars.  A couple of years ago, I learned that "Avatar" was accomplished using "Light Wave." 

     Anyway..... about a year after my initial meeting with Riff and the CRS in NYC, there was a global knowledge sharing meeting scheduled in Budapest.  I was certainly going to attend and was most excited to find out if Riff would attend.  I could just picture in my mind Riff revealing to the world all that he had shared with me.  I called Riff.  He told me that the CRS was going to be the one to represent Clark Construction in Budapest.  I was appalled.  I call some of my friends with the Budapest Company to encourage them to get Riff to attend.  Rock Stars want other Rock Stars.  The knowledge shared in Budapest was OK.  The CRS missed most of the meetings because he was either hung over or drunk.  Simply... there is not enough time in life to be both a Rock Star and an Expert.  The world, for balance, has and certainly needs both types, if for nothing else other than for the contrast.