An SME’s priorities are competence, knowledge, and professionalism, in that order
Your customers need trust, vision, and execution, in that order
Practice your craft deliberately every day
Performing in your craft rarely counts as practice
Being an expert in the eyes of one person does not mean you are an expert in the eyes of another
Being an expert in the eyes of many people, does not make you an expert in the eyes of all
Use expertise to benefit others before you use it to benefit yourself
People seek experts for one reason: to eliminate risk. So, eliminate risk
Identify risks, rank them, and vanquish them in order
If you can’t eliminate all risks (which you can’t) isolate and mitigate
If you can help someone, don’t wait, help quickly
If you can’t help someone, don’t obstruct. Clear a path for those who can
Stay in your lane. Don’t pretend you’re expert in subjects you are not
Keep it simple. If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old you don’t know it well enough
Doing nothing is an option. Most alternatives, including your best ones, are often worse than doing nothing
Challenge the status quo
Know the radius of your character and stay within it
Lift where you stand
Don’t expect others to get out of the way, they won’t
Tell the truth
Don’t be arrogant when you tell the truth
Keep secrets
Never violate a trust
Protect everyone from folly
Declare your recommendations with confidence
If you aren’t confident about your recommendations then don’t declare them
Smooth the edges
Fix what’s broken
Soothe what hurts
Honor what is holy
When someone is wrong, assume ignorance before malice
Test and test again
Take care of your equipment
Don’t waste anyone’s time
Don’t assume you know the answer before you know the question
Don’t assume people know what they want. They rarely do
Don’t assume people know what you are talking about. They rarely do
Listen ask, listen talk, listen, listen, listen. In that order
Respect every person in the meeting, especially the least among them
Find the edge of human knowledge and explore further
Find the limits of your personal skill and stretch further
Make your audience feel smart
Answer questions with hope and optimism
Interpret stupid questions as valid, serious, and important
Never condescend
Know your numbers
If someone gives you a number, assume it’s wrong.
Count twice
Do the math three times
Leave nothing to chance, or to the imagination
Avoid expressing doubt. If you do doubt keep it to yourself unless it matters. It rarely does
Never show anger
Put your passion on display regularly, your emotions matter
Remain current in your domain
Read twice what you write before sending
Assume your message will be forwarded
Assume your tone will be amplified
When others are doubtful display confidence; when others are confident be doubtful
Don’t praise your competitors
AA&TJ (Avoid acronyms and technical jargon)
Find a way to say “yes” as an alternative to saying “no.”
Don’t criticize your colleagues.
Surprises are not a party. Don’t surprise anyone. You can warn, caution, inform, remind, signal, prompt, suggest, and urge, but don’t surprise, ever
Avoid the Hindenburg. If something is going to fail, ensure it hurts no one and that it fails fast and fails cheap
Know the laws that govern your domain
Know the standards that inform the laws
Distinguish the differences
Focus on what matters
Ignore distractions
Be enthusiastic. If you are not excited about your subject who will be?
Maintain patience when working with the unskilled
Trust others and be trustworthy
Don’t assume your audience trusts you, they don’t
Don’t assume your audience will believe you, they won’t
Don’t assume your audience is convinced by you, they’re not
Don’t just talk. Give people a reason to listen
Ignore the nay-sayers, the mockers, and the haters
Keep it short. Don’t say “boo-hoo” when “boo” will do
Rejoice in the successes of others
Seek the consensus of other experts
Love what you do and do what you love
Know the people who set the standards of your industry, learn from them, then set the standards for your industry
Grant people the space and time to grow. Let them crawl before they walk, and walk before they run
Remember how hard it was to learn a skill for the first time
Practice with people who are better than you, until they are no longer better than you
Remember the end of the project is the hardest. The first 90% of the project will take 90% of the time. The other 10% of the project will take the other 90% of the time
Avoid sarcasm when you write, speak and think. Pretty much always
Be nice. If people find you offensive, they will eventually stop finding you at all
Demo what your audience needs to see, not what you want to show
Assume the worst conditions for your demo
Never let them see you set up the demo or presentation. Configure everything in advance.
Practice what you preach and preach what you practice
Don’t say, “Google it.” Unless you know Google will quote you as the authority
Don’t extend vain promises
Focus on one person at a time. If you remain focused on one person, the world will change. If you focus on the world, no one will change.
Act with autonomy. Do what must be done, especially when no one else will
Context is everything. Be certain your recommendation fits the nuance of the current situation
Accept accountability
Avoid using absolutes. Words such as never, always, absolutely, completely, all, none, and impossible are rarely true
Avoid ambiguity. If your words can be interpreted in more than one way, assume they will be interpreted in the way that does the most harm.
