Chapter 4: It's Not What You Know

Why we don't like to think of ourselves as the experts

We are not experts. And we like it that way.

We know our business, of course. And we think we’ve got some of the best designers, writers, and creative strategists out there. We have years of experience. We’ve got a point of view and we know how to help our clients share theirs.?

But we don’t come to the table as experts, because we don’t think our best work happens when we’re trying to tell everyone how much we know.

When we think we know everything, we learn nothing. We miss the chance to make new discoveries. When we insist on doing things our way, we can't craft the unique solutions that work best for each client.

That’s the problem with “being an expert”—it can make you more interested in telling people what you know than in being curious and humble—which we believe are inroads to true creativity and innovation.

We bring a lot of things to the table: experience, talent, guidance—even expertise. But sometimes we bring something else, like a question that helps our clients discover new possibilities no one had seen before.?

It can feel risky, to ask a question instead of always giving an answer. But we’ve seen it open up all kinds of opportunities.

We think that’s how the best experts get where they are: through a posture of openness, curiosity, and humility. And through never losing the sense that it’s still possible to make extraordinary discoveries, no matter how much you know—as long as we don’t fall into the trap of believing we already know everything.