Noreena Hertz is an economist of global import. From her bio:
Her work is considered to provide a much needed blueprint for rethinking economics and corporate strategy. She is the Duisenberg Professor of Globalization, Sustainability and Finance based at Duisenberg School of Finance, RSM, Erasmus University and University of Cambridge. She is also a Fellow of University College London.
Her talk at TED 2010 on the role of expertise is fascinating and illuminating. According to Hertz, “we’ve surrendered our power, trading off our discomfort with uncertainty for the illusion of certainty that they [experts] provide.”
What does this have to do with teams, change, and strategy? While hers is a call to be cautious when listening to experts, it is just as much a call to democratize institutional knowledge. She offers three strategies for switching on our ability to make our own decisions, from challenging experts to inviting and managing dissent, and redefining who experts really are. Likely, the greatest expertise in our organizations does not reside in the highest ranks of managerial leadership.
Skip ahead to 15:00 or so for a discussion on Best Buy discovering their valuable lessons in expertise.
