Why experts are annoying

Why experts are annoying(əˈnoi-iNG)

By Derek Sivers

When someone becomes an expert at something, you know what else they become? Annoying.

At a restaurant, your designer(dəˈzīnər) friend complains about the font on the menu(ˈmenyo͞o), your musician friend complains about the background music, and your manager friend complains about the service. Why?

The problem is that their expertise(-ˈtēs,ˌekspərˈtēz) makes them annoyed. They’re trained to spot(spät) errors. They’re so aware(əˈwe(ə)r) of what’s wrong. Even worse, they know exactly how to fix it. They learned the techniques to make things great, so they’re angry when someone didn’t do the obvious(ˈäbvēəs) solution. They get so frustrated(ˈfrəˌstrādəd) that they can’t focus on their meal(mēl), because now they really want to fix the problem.

These things don’t bother the rest of us. We’re easier to please(plēz). Good is good enough.

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https://sivers.org/exan