Once achieved, expert status is both sweet and sour. It is exhilarating and disappointing simultaneously. At first, a subject matter expert is thrilled when they are sought out for advice or assistance, but soon all experts realize that their recommendations are more likely to be ignored than followed and their achievements are more likely to be passed over than celebrated. An SME is one voice in a sea of opinions and one actor on a massive and crowded stage. People will question an expert’s motives, ridicule their credentials, dismiss their advice, or scoff at their accomplishments.

When an expert says something the audience does not like, they will reject that expert and their message, and quickly seek another “expert” who will say or do what they want. David Ben-Gurion was the first prime minister of Israel. He is credited as saying, "If an expert says it can’t be done, get another expert." And get another expert they will. Th is is exactly the sentiment held by many people in many industries: If one expert will not do or say as I wish, there is almost certainly another expert who will.

With the proliferation of skilled people and communications technology, there is almost a guarantee that experts will be ignored. With more and more information comes less and less attention. Experts today are more likely to be ignored than ever before.