March 28, 2024

Don’t sweat the knowledge gap

When an expert is hired by a non-expert to provide a service there is by definition a knowledge gap.

In other words, the expert knows stuff that the non-expert does not.

For example, an experienced interior painter has probably forgotten more about paint and painting than a hopelessly unhandy homeowner like me will ever know.

This knowledge gap is fine. It’s not a problem. If I want my kitchen painted, I don’t need to know a thing about painting. In fact, I don’t want to know a thing about painting.

Knowing about painting is the painter’s job.

Here’s the thing...

The painter is an expert at painting and the homeowner is an expert at knowing how they want to feel when they walk into their freshly painted kitchen.

Teaching the homeowner about paint is a waste of everyone’s time.

But understanding how the homeowner wants to feel would be a smart thing for the painter to do in advance.

Yours,

—J

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