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In his book "The Professionalism," Kenichi Ohmae points out that experts are no longer defined by professional categories such as doctors, lawyers, or accountants, but rather by their ability to solve complex and intricate problems. The value of an expert, different from ordinary people, lies in their ability to think independently and solve problems optimally when facing difficulties. Ohmae predicts that the era of experts has arrived. He even believes that anyone can become an "expert," because "experts" can be cultivated and trained through certain methods.

In "The Professionalism," Ohmae explains the "original" definition of "expert." The original meaning of the word "profess" is "to swear before God to take this as a profession." Ohmae defines the foundation of professionalism as "a vow to the customer."

Ohmae points out that experts are premised on professionalism, and professionalism is premised on "profession" (i.e., creating customer value), not on "specialization." Therefore, being an expert is not a self-proclaimed title, nor an honor granted by government agencies or academic institutions. As long as you can effectively solve others' problems and bring value to them, you are a well-deserved expert. If you are a management professor, whether you inspire students with insights into life and interpersonal skills (based on my teaching experience, teaching management to students mainly involves teaching them how to conduct themselves and interact with others, not just telling them how enterprises operate), or enlighten entrepreneurs on running their businesses (if management scholars have successful experience in running enterprises, they can teach entrepreneurs specific operational skills; but if they lack such experience, what we can contribute should mainly be business philosophy), or contribute theoretically to management researchers (by supplementing, perfecting, or innovating management theory), you must achieve at least one of these three aspects; otherwise, no matter how high your administrative rank or professional title, you are not worthy of the title "expert."

In the eyes of Japanese scholar Kenichi Ohmae, an expert's attitude is an essential skill. Experts control their emotions and act based on rationality. They not only possess strong professional knowledge, skills, and ethical concepts, but also invariably put customers first, have an insatiable curiosity and drive, and strictly adhere to discipline. Only those who meet all these conditions do I call experts.

After reading Ohmae's explanations of professionalism and experts above, do you feel a bit like "sweating"? It's okay; sweating first is better than regretting later. In any case, given the current state of impatience and value confusion in Chinese society, reading the works of a true management master can be beneficial for some of our narrow understandings.

Experts are premised on "professionalism"

Ohmae believes that professionalism is your only way to survive in the 21st century. He defines the foundation of professionalism as "a vow to the customer," because the etymology of "expert" is "profess," meaning "to swear before God to take this as a profession." Therefore, for those engaged in various professional and technical work, distinguishing who is professional and who is merely nominal is "customer first."

There are many American TV series that tell the stories of professional teams, such as "ER" and "House M.D.," which well illustrate the true meaning of "professionalism." Ohmae pays particular attention to the word "Oath" that appears in "ER." This oath is known in the medical field as the "Hippocratic Oath," which is recited before the gods of medicine, Apollo and Asclepius. In medical schools, students aspiring to become doctors are required to take this oath. In the Chinese TV drama "Dragon Tiger Life," actor Wang Zhiwen recites a passage from this "Hippocratic Oath." Ohmae reminds us that this "Hippocratic Oath" is not only meaningful for doctors but also has profound implications for thinking about professionalization. If we consider doctors as a "profession" and patients as "customers," this oath can be applied to all industries.

Are you professional enough? This question from Ohmae will challenge all professionals surviving in the digital age.

Ohmae provides four essential abilities:

Foresight ability—the ability to see things that others cannot see; Conception ability—the ability to turn opportunities into reality at the fastest speed and with the best methods; Discussion ability—the abilities and qualities essential for discussing issues; Adaptation to contradictions ability—the ability to think from a global perspective.

Professionalism is premised on "profession"

What is "profession"? "Profession" refers to the strategic mission of the enterprise. In Mr. Drucker's management by objectives theory, "profession" refers to "objectives." Drucker clearly states that such "objectives" can effectively prevent the phenomenon of "rule by man" within enterprises.

For Chinese people, it is very necessary to clarify what "profession" is. Because only when "profession" is clear can we achieve "focusing on the matter rather than the person" through institutionalized measures. The only standard for evaluating whether a person is excellent is whether they respect the "profession." When "profession" is unclear, due to the lack of objective evaluation from the "customer" dimension, we often have to use subjective value standards such as morality or strategy to "focus on the person rather than the matter" for evaluation.

This makes it easy to understand the various problems that continuously emerge in Chinese enterprises. Although some problems cannot be solely attributed to the enterprises themselves, such as the recent "shampoo causing cancer" incident, it cannot be solely attributed to the enterprises. The reason is that some media have lost their nature premised on "profession," such as supervision, objectivity, and fairness. For example, in the recent incident where Guo Degang's disciple hit a journalist, unfortunately, some media only wanted news and sensational effects, losing some of the principles they should follow, namely "profession."

As for who is right or wrong in the incident of Guo Degang's disciple hitting a journalist, it is not for us to judge. The author is not trying to exonerate Guo Degang or his disciple, because these matters are "none of my business." I only want to illustrate one point: if enterprises, marketing management personnel, or others, for the sake of "specialization" (such as news or sensation) ignore the foundation of "profession" (such as objectivity and fairness), after putting the cart before the horse, what use is "specialization"? Ultimately, it will be unsustainable.

For marketing management personnel, experts are premised on professionalism, but professionalism ultimately must return to "profession," to your ultimate value. Your professionalism may be unparalleled, but if it is used to figure out how to produce and add melamine, or how to make health products that are useless but won't kill people, what use is your professionalism? Can it bring useful and lasting value to enterprises and customers?

Harvard Business School marketing professor Levitt said: Customers buy promises. This promise is the brand's commitment to consumers, the enterprise's commitment to customers, and the commitment of marketing management personnel to the enterprise and themselves.

Technology and skills are relatively easy to master; therefore, we can all become very "specialized" in a certain field through learning. So, everyone can become an "expert" as Ohmae says, but after truly becoming "specialized," the "ultimate goal" we pursue is to become talents premised on "profession." Only then will our society have fewer shameless people and fewer enterprises that exist solely for profit. Only in this way can our enterprises' competitiveness truly improve and have the momentum and ability for sustainable development.

In simple terms, for enterprise marketing management personnel, achieving "specialization" is not very difficult, but without a deep understanding of "profession," "specialization" is just water without a source and a tree without roots.

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