The Value of Experts
Back in 2016, British cabinet minister, Michael Gove, famously said, “people in this country have had enough of experts.”
He went on to qualify his statement, specifying “experts from organisations with acronyms.” But the first part stuck; it seemed to reflect the populist zeitgeist of the time in both the UK and the US.
Within professional services, though, Gove’s comment was wide of the mark. Investors and consultants can’t get enough of experts; indeed a whole industry has emerged to service them. Investors in particular have long relied on experts to provide them with insight into the companies and market sectors they evaluate. Traditionally, they cultivated their own networks of contacts but it’s hard work growing and maintaining a Rolodex, particularly if your area of focus shifts every few months. So an industry evolved to address this problem, matching up experts with investors.
Pioneering this industry was Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG). Today, GLG has a million experts in its Rol…