How to Become an Expert by Maurice Gibbons

Questions You May Have about Becoming an Expert

1. How do I become an expert?
2. What topics do I become an expert in?
3. How long will it take me to become an expert in my field?

Introduction: How to Become an Expert by Maurice Gibbons

How to Become an Expert by Maurice Gibbons is out of print. I bought a used copy at AbeBooks. I got the book because of an idea that came to me while participating in the MoreReads: Blueprint to Change the World that I created and am hosting.

Originally published in 1985, Maurice Gibbons presents some solid information. However, I want to add that in today's dynamic work environment, professionals need to have expertise in several areas. Think of yourself as being “Ms Jack of all trades and mistress of many.”

Besides the MoreReads: Blueprint to Change the World being a global reading challenge, participants get the opportunity to develop their career. You read many books to enable you to become more valuable to yourself and to your employer. You learn and develop portable skills when you participate. And you learn to solve problems in the workplace.

In many organizations, sponsors help their protégés to secure stretch assignments. These types of assignments push you outside of your comfort zone. It's a way for you to prepare for the next stage of your career – the next job, that’s more than likely in a department that contributes directly to the company’s bottom line. How to Become an Expert by Maurice Gibbons complements Promoted by Bozi Dar, How to Be Great at Your Job by Justin Kerr and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

Have you read?

Review – Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

I work for myself. I do not have a sponsor. But, it occurred to me that I can create my own stretch assignment. I know where I want to take my career. I know what products and services I’d like to offer. But intentionally working on a stretch assignment may allow me to discover new opportunities.

I bought How to Become an Expert because I wanted to create my own stretch assignment, or personal, professional development plan. And the best part is that I can use the extreme reading challenge to help me to complete the stretch assignment.

How to Become an Expert by Maurice Gibbons is dated in many sections. The version I have, was published in 1991- it's 29 years old. The book is in a workbook format, and I completed the exercises as I read the book. Although the book is dated, it has an excellent template for me to create a learning development plan.I updated the plan to make it more relevant for today.

There are also a lot of case studies in the book to demonstrate the point the author is trying to make. The book is for students, so it is written simply and is easy to understand.

Content: How to Become an Expert by Maurice Gibbons

If you can get past the dated technology mentioned in How to Become an Expert by Maurice Gibbons, you will discover a lot of useful information. The book offered me a process to create a meaningful stretch assignment for myself. While reading the book, I was reminded to read the following books:

• How to Become an Expert on Anything in Two Hours
• The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything Fast
• The Expert's Edge: Become the Go-To Authority People Turn to Every Time
• Stretch: How to Future-Proof Yourself for Tomorrow's Workplace
• Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career

It’s worth mentioning that you should never rely on the thoughts and ideas of one person. Reading multiple books on one topic gives you differing perspectives. It also allows you to master the topic of interest.

I appreciated how Maurice Gibbons walks the reader through figuring out which areas to develop his or her expertise. This is important because not everyone will know what areas to target. And there are different ways to figure out your expertise, so one of them will work for you.

Because the book is targeted to students, you may not appreciate some examples. I am after specific pieces of information, so I am willing to forgive a lot of things, when it comes to reading this book.

What Topics Do I Become an Expert In: Five Ways of Choosing a Field

1. Personal Inventory: What are your interests, skills, abilities, knowledge and experience? What are the opportunities in the marketplace?
2. Looking over the Fields: What’s out there? Where might you excel?
3. Brainstorm: Generate ideas for potential fields you can enter.
4. Shape a Vision: This is aspirational. A year from now, what would you like to be doing?
5. Exploration: What are some new fields that you can enter?

If you end up with a few good ideas for projects that you’d like to work on, the author shows you how to decide which one to work on first. Gibbons emphasizes the importance of being clear about what you hope to accomplish by working on your project, and how to measure success.

How to Become an Expert by Maurice Gibbons: Nine-Step Planning Process

1. State Your Learning Goal Clearly
2. Decide on a Challenge Product You Will Produce (for me it’s the stretch assignment I want to work on)
3. Outline the Activities You Will Use to Achieve Your Learning Goal and to Produce a Product
4. Organize the Activities into a Time Line That Shows What You Will Do and When
   1. Learning Activities
   2. Product Activities
5. Name Your Accountability Partner
6. Identify Your Target Audience for Your Expertise
7. Decide on the Critical Success Factor for the Project
8. Decide How You Will Celebrate Success
9. Negotiate Your Plan with your Boss, or Even Your Accountability Partner

When the author introduces a concept in How to Become an Expert, he provides several examples to demonstrate what he means. The book is dated, and is written for students from Grades 5 to 8, so some examples will not resonate with the adult reader. I am excited about learning the new information, so when he introduces a concept, I start applying the information right away.

After he explains and provides examples, you are asked to apply the information, which by that time, I would have done already. I am mentioning this because when Gibbons first talks about Learning Activities and Product Activities, I couldn’t readily understand the difference between both types of activities. I think the issue for me was that he didn’t provide relevant examples that I could relate to.

Later, I was able to figure out the difference based on some new information he presented. So learning activities are the things you need to do to learn more about the field to develop your expertise. These include: Read books, observe people in the field doing what you want to do, talk to a mentor to clarify your ideas, attend events on the topic, practice what you are learning, and teach what you learn to others.

After you have learned what you need to about the field, it’s time to list the activities that will allow you to execute your project. Let’s say for the sake of argument, your stretch assignment is to write a book. You would do the learning activities to learn as much as you can on the subject that you are writing about. The product activities would include the actual writing of the book, and what that entails.

Conclusion: How to Become an Expert by Maurice Gibbons

Because the book is written with a child in mind, most of the information is easy to understand. A typical adult reader may not appreciate some examples. But you shouldn’t let this stop you from reading How to Become an Expert by Maurice Gibbons if you can get a copy. The book ends with a seven-step plan for developing expertise.

1. Have a working journal.
2. Find an expert in the field to study.
3. Choose an area in which you want to develop expertise.
4. Develop the skills needed and start using them.
5. Apply what you learn to a meaningful project.
6. Work on your expert’s project.
7. Show your expertise and accomplishment.

The length of time it takes you to become an expert in your field depends on you. You must take the time to practice what you are learning. So that you learn by doing. A good book to read if you want to learn a skill quickly is Ultralearning by Scott Young.

Next Steps

Wondering what to do next, you can do all of:

1. Buy my new book, Leadership Reading: Spilling the Tea on How Top Leaders Read

2. If you want to Consult 1:1 about Effective Reading Strategies

3. Subscribe to my YouTube Channel

4. Join the Art of Learning Membership Site

5. Download Unlock Your Genius Power Reading Tips Sheet

6. Buy me a cup of coffee!

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UPDATE: First Published on April 15, 2016. If you click on a link and make a purchase on Amazon, the organization will pay me a small commission.