Are you an Expert?

..then, Listen.

I was in a workshop yesterday. It was a video conference across various centers of the company. The objective was to bring on the same page, the work different groups were doing (mostly related to my field), the way things have been going on, and a general outlook on where we are heading.

I met this fellow who flew in from the states. I had heard about him and that he was a specialist. During a break, we chatted about my work, the way I believed some things should proceed and how research in certain area could be helpful. This fellow appreciated my ideas, gave feedback wherever it was useful and even suggested whom I could contact if I needed to discuss further. But most importantly, he listened - very patiently.

Today, as I came in, I looked at his career profile and found that he is an expert of, in fact, a different subject; and holds Masters and Doctorate from the MIT!
This just reinforces my belief that only those who know stuff, can keep calm and appreciate others' views.

I am sure, his neural networks are more 'Complex' than average, yet he has to behave 'Simple' to prove it.