Today with the growth of social media like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, we seem to have these terms flying around all over the World Wide Web. There are people claiming to be an expert on this subject or the guru of that subject. No one really states that they are just experienced on a subject as if that doesn’t sound important enough. We have relabeled the meanings of many words because everyone has a “bully pulpit” when it comes to sharing opinions on social media. Therefore there is as much misinformation flying around as there is good or accurate information on the Web. Let’s take a look at the definitions of experienced versus expert versus guru.

First is the term experienced, which is defined as having knowledge or skill in a particular field, esp. a profession or job, gained over a period of time. Simply put, if one has put a significant amount of time and energy into their profession or hobby they have gained valuable experience, then this is definitely an experienced person. You can learn from them but by the very definition an experienced person doesn’t necessarily share their experience unless maybe they are personally approached. I know many experienced insurance agents that never really share their “secrets” to their success for fear of having created a competitor.  This would actually make them work harder at always reinventing their approaches, at least in their minds.

Second let’s take a look at an expert. The definition of expert is a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area. So an expert varies from experienced in the fact that this person has taken their experience and now is authoritative in position. An example would be an experienced insurance agent being promoted to an agency owner or manager with an insurance company. The expert now not only has experience from many years of working in their field but has also studied their craft and has comprehensive knowledge of their profession to the point of becoming a leader in their industry through their actions. Even then experts will share knowledge with their subordinates or team but maybe reluctant to share their wisdom with their peer group of other leaders. The fear is the same as that of the experienced insurance agent, this fear of having to reinvent themselves on their approaches. Of course, this is still only in their minds.

Finally our last definition is the guru. The second definition of guru, past the first religious one is a teacher and guide in spiritual and philosophical matters, a trusted counselor and adviser; a mentor.In other words the guru is a teacher or mentor of being an expert. The guru is willing to share their knowledge and experience with others. They do not have the fear of losing their “secrets” and creating competition. The guru is a very valuable member of any team or business. This is the person that can take companies or organizations to the next level. This is the kind of person that leaves an organization or company in better shape than they found it. Their leadership carries on without them. This is the type of expert that mentors the experienced to their guru level.

The next time you are reading a blog or article, do yourself a favor and Google the author. Are you reading an opinion from an experienced person, an expert or a guru?

“A true teacher would never tell you what to do. But he would give you the knowledge with which you could decide what would be best for you to do.” ― Christopher Pike, Sati

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Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger and team leader with over 26 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.