"If you are the expert in the room, you are in the wrong room!" - Futurist Jim Carroll
Futurist Jim Carroll is writing a series, The Art of the Infinite Pivot, based on 36 lessons from his 36 years as a solo entrepreneur, working as a nomadic worker in the global freelance economy. The series is unfolding here, and at pivot.jimcarroll.com.
I had a variation of this idea in my 26 Principles for 2026 series: “If you are the fastest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.”
My key point? "It's no longer about the reach of your skills network, but also the speed with which they operate. If they aren't as fast as you, it will slow you down even further, stunt your progress, and ruin your ability to align with exponential trends."
So too it is with expertise!
In the early stages of a career, we strive to be the "expert." We want to be the ones with the answers, the ones people look to for guidance. But in my 36-year voyage, I’ve discovered that the most dangerous place to be is to have a mindset of overconfidence, a belief that you have all the answers, and that you know enough. To maintain the Infinite Pivot - to be able to change at the speed of change - you must have the humility to constantly seek out people who make you feel like a beginner.
That's why you should always try to surround yourself with the smartest people you can find.
When you surround yourself with the smartest minds - the coders who know more than you about Linux, the scientists who understand the genome deeper than you ever will, the young disruptors who see "toys" you haven't even noticed - you are forced to expand your own mind. You are encouraged to explore more, discover bigger ideas, and chase things you don't know about that you should know about!
Throughout my 36 years, some of my most profound breakthroughs and opportunities didn't come from my own isolated "big thinking." They came from conversations with people who fundamentally challenged my assumptions, changed my beliefs, or pointed me in different directions. I remember being the "dumbest" person in a room full of NASA engineers at one point, and an audience literally full of nuclear scientists at another. Both situations taught me some things I ight not have otherwise learned about change, the future, trends, and disruptive opportunity, because I saw those things through a new and fresh set of eyes. That was an invaluable experience - I've had many, many more.
Think of it this way - if you are the smartest person in your inner circle, you are putting yourself in a situation where your progress might stall. But if you expand your circle, you have a bigger opportunity for new knowledge, and in that way, your intelligence is a reflection of your proximity.
The Infinite Pivot - changing at speed - requires a constant infusion of new "mental software." If you only talk to people who agree with you, you aren't pivoting, you’re just spinning in circles.
So seek out the minds that intimidate you.
Ask the questions that reveal your ignorance.
Surround yourself with brilliance, and let it pull you toward the next opportunity in your pivot!
One of the most important things that Futurist Jim Carroll knows is that he knows there is a lot he doesn't know!