Our Desk | Be careful from whom you take advice

Renato Marques

We all seek advice in many occasions in our lives. Sometimes it’s because we really need someone with expertise to help us to solve a problem or make the best decision, and on other occasions it’s because we just want reassurance on something that we already know but perhaps are afraid to act on.

In both personal life and society, there exists both “good” and “bad” advice and a big part of the success of any action depends on the knowledge and expertise of whom we seek advice.

Too often we seek opinion instead of advice. Opinions have this odd feature that even if we do not ask for them, people around us keep giving them anyway.

Obviously I am not trying to state here that all the opinions are void of value, however the idea I am trying to highlight is be careful from whom you take advice.  In particular, you should pay attention to that person’s background, whether they have knowledge of the topic or are giving advice based solely on personal belief. Without this consideration, you are open to receive biased comments based on prejudices, or just pure ignorance.

A similar process is involved in the governance or in the management of any company or institution. You choose whether or not to hear others’ voices, you choose to speak out or to stay quiet about your views on a certain topic.

This is particularly important not only because it will make a company, institution or country strive and move forward towards development but because such response will give a clear perspective of the way the leaders approach this topic of the “pursuit of advice” that ultimately should be “pursuit of wisdom.”

So let’s do a little interactive game. Tell me, would you seek medical advice on a health issue from cleaning staff at your company? Or would you ask for help on a mechanical problem you are experiencing in your car from a chef?

I know I would not because important matters deserve some expertise and that is why we have professions, why we have specialties and also why we have different career paths.

The idea is not to undervalue some professions or the role of different people in society, but quite the opposite, it is to acknowledge that a baker will always (in theory) know more about baking than a construction worker and that the same construction worker will always have a deeper knowledge of construction sites than a baker.

Another factor that is often seen to have an important influence on someone’s capacity to give advice is their level of experience.

I agree with the idea that experience is far more important than theoretical or hypothetical knowledge; empirical knowledge is definitely a great advantage when it is proven to  achieve good results.

So, all this said, from whom should we seek advice? Who should the governments and people approach to seek help to solve difficult problems?

Most people will say – the experts! The knowledgeable ones!

Seems like an easy answer in theory, although in practice we seem to fall into easy traps. We keep asking questions about tourism to those that have never travelled, ask for advice on planning of those that never have any ideas about the future, and seek wisdom about education from those that seem to be the most poorly educated.