What Does It Mean to Be an Expert in Business Engagement?

There are many definitions that describe what qualifies an “expert,” but in general, it refers to someone with proven ability, demonstrated skill and extensive knowledge based on research and experience in a particular area. More importantly, it is their deliberate practice in a chosen field that makes her or him an expert.

A question was posed in a Harvard Business Review (HBR) article that motivated us at Business U  to take some time to reflect and analyze, “how can you tell when you’re dealing with a genuine expert?” According to HBR, real expertise must pass three tests:

1. It must lead to performance that is consistently superior to that of the expert’s peers.
   
   
2. Real expertise produces concrete results. Brain surgeons, for example, not only must be skillful with their scalpels but also must have successful outcomes with their patients.
   
   
3. Finally, true expertise can be replicated and measured. As the British scientist Lord Kelvin stated, “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.”

There are no short cuts, no clever anecdotes, and definitely no amount of marketing messages that one can use to qualify as an “expert.” For this reason, we want to ask you, how do you vet vendors that consider themselves to be a business engagement expert?

If you are reading this article, we are making the assumption that you or your organization are looking for ways to maximize your professional development investments and performance outcomes. Underpinned by HBR’s criteria, Business U has developed 10 questions for your consideration to assist you with vetting vendors claiming to be experts in business engagement.

Download the Vetting a Claimed Expert in Business Engagement to use as a quick guide that includes the reasons why you should ask these questions and how Business U would respond.

Here’s a preview of the questions:

1. Have you ever asked a training provider if their organization or training curriculum is accredited? How about who is their accrediting agency and what are the standards they must adhere to?
2. Is business engagement the core focus of the vendor’s mission?
3. When sending staff to a business engagement training, what data do you track that demonstrates the learning outcomes have been achieved?
4. When reviewing the vendor’s advertised business engagement training outcomes, what new abilities, knowledge and skills will be learned?
5. Has the training vendor you are considering been recognized in their industry as an exceptional businessperson?
6. What is the difference between business services and business engagement? How does the training provider you are considering differentiate between these two concepts?
7. What percentage of participants who have already taken the business engagement or the business services course you are considering would recommend it to a colleague?
8. Is the curriculum used by the training vendor underpinned by third-party validated instructional methods, and as importantly, a training philosophy that supports the professional adult learner?
9. If a training vendor says that “communications” such as branding is part of their business engagement curriculum, ask them to share examples and then follow-up with the question: “How have you branded and marketed workforce (or education) organizations to expand reach specifically to employers?”
10. How do the training vendors that you are considering share their knowledge to improve the practice of business engagement and contribute to the workforce or education community?

At Business U, we do not focus on what we do well, instead, we deliberately practice and concentrate on what we need to do better. As a reminder to us from the Harvard Business Review article 

Deliberate practice is different. It entails considerable, specific, and sustained efforts….You cannot consistently improve your ability…without considerable practice, reflection, and analysis….Only when you can see that deliberate practice is the most effective means to the desired end—becoming the best in your field—will you commit to excellence.

To learn more, please visit us at Business U.

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