The Smarter you are, the easier it is to fall into this trap...

Hi folks! 👋 Doug here,

You probably consider yourself an expert.
And I’m sure you're not wrong.

But here's the thing: most "experts" have no idea what their biggest weakness is.

Overconfidence.

The expertise trap happens when you stop actively learning your craft.
I get it, you’ve seen it all. And if you haven’t.. you can BS your way through anything at this point.

And then one day, you get caught spewing wrong or dated advice.
All credibility lost.

On top of being terrible for building trust, it Hinders your ability to adapt to changing circumstances. It limits creativity and increases the likelihood of missed opportunities.

It happens gradually. You become overly focused on your specialized knowledge and lose sight of the broader context. Or, you can get stuck in your "own ways," limiting your ability to see new approaches or opportunities.

But it's critical to be open to new ideas and be willing to change direction when necessary. Consider the Interesting case of Blockbuster and Netflix.
Both had a run-in with the Expertise Trap.

Throughout the '90s, Blockbuster was shaking things up at the movies by making it easy for people to watch movies at home.
They were everywhere. It was like Starbucks… but for movies.

They were on top of the world. And they did NOT bother to keep innovating. Renting VHS tapes from the corner store was all they were ever going to need. 

Until Netflix came along.
Netflix is a great example of a company that avoided the expertise trap.

They started giving Blockbuster headaches by shipping customers DVDs in the mail. The postal mail. Like, using trucks and humans.
Yeah...THAT was disruptive.

But they knew it wasn't going to stay disruptive.
It wasn’t long before DVD vending machines started popping up everywhere.
 
So they started streaming movies.

And now they are one of the best-known brands in the world.

All of that is to say...
you should work very hard to avoid the expertise trap. 

Here's how:

1. Continuously seek out new experiences and perspectives to broaden the dataset your brain has to make decisions.

2. Build diverse groups of friends and colleagues to seek input from different viewpoints.

3. Encourage experimentation and take calculated risks.

4. Seek out and be open to constructive criticism and feedback.

5. Maintain a focus on the bigger picture and avoid getting bogged down in details.

Easier said than done sometimes, I know.
But, you know what's even harder?
Finding a Blockbuster.

Previously on @DugLvlsUp:

If you want to chat more about this the twitter thread is below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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☝ Thanks, You’re the Best! 😁
~Doug