Experts Come From Out Of Town

“Yeah, yeah Mom. I know.”

Whether you’re the kid or the parent, you know the sentiment. When there’s good advice to give or receive, remember, “Experts often come from out of town.”

“Crap, mom always said that. She really was right.”

Sometimes, changing the messenger changes how the message itself lands.

On one hand, we want to be sensitive to when the messenger is influencing what we are hearing. On the other, we want to be sensitive to how others are hearing our message (and figuring out when we need to employ an expert from a distant land).

Asking and answering, “What’s the message,” “Who should deliver it,” and “Why” are a good start. What’s the point of a message that won’t be heard?

Some real-life examples:– The entire consulting profession– The family friend who says exactly the same thing as you do to your kids but is “so cool and so smart!”– The teacher who gives you a complete lightbulb moment… that you later realize rhymes with something you’ve been hearing at home your entire life

They’re not just coincidences. The medium is the message, and the messenger matters too.

I know it’s a common expression, but I’ve been thinking more about how to apply it after Tren Griffin’s Infinite Loops interview, “Tren Griffin – Escaping Gravity.”