Don’t you hate it when someone you know offers free advice?
We all hate getting advice. Even if it is good advice. It is somehow condescending. Is it because parents tend to dole out advice about 100 times a day? Does it make us feel like children? Probably.
Given this, it is interesting and somewhat ironic that there is so much free advice around—blogs, articles, Oprah. This decade will certainly be remembered as one of free advice. Somehow getting advice from people we don’t know is OK. These people seem more like experts—somehow smarter than us.
I am frankly tired of reading and listening to all the free advice, even from people I don’t know. So, I pick my spots. In order for me to take your free advice, you need to really be an expert and a recognized expert. How do I know? I don’t always. I look for people who have extensive education or experience and highly successful track records. They must know more than me about a subject.
If you successfully ran a large company for many years or if you did your Ph d in business and are a member of an esteemed faculty, I am interested in your advice. Quite simply you must know more than I do. I am not interested in advice from people who are merely good at marketing themselves (unless I want advice about marketing myself).
