Why You Probably Know More than Self-Proclaimed "Gurus"

This caught my attention the other day: A simple look at a stock-market-pick-'em-software infomercial, and you'd be surprised at how many "gurus" exist. Though a few do have credibility (like 0.01%), the majority don't. Besides, what "guru" would tell you to buy on trends (a ridiculous, recockulous method), instead of potential? The same idea applies to management issues. Most theory may sound fine and well, but in practice, causes more harm. Most business authors and professors, for example, embrace strategy when research after research studies disprove the effect of it. Says last year's Harvard's Business Review: "Whoever first applied the term 'guru' to management thinkers probably meant well: The original Sanskrit word means venerable teacher. But over the years the term became associated more with best-sellers and astronomical speaking fees than with original thinking and serious fieldwork." Self-proclaimed "gurus" are anything but. Be cautious about where you get your information. If they can't back up their claims with impartial data, run.

If you enjoyed Why You Probably Know More than Self-Proclaimed "Gurus", get a complimentary subscription to our freshest articles through email or through your feed reader.