I finally admit that I’m the subject matter expert on nutrition bars. I’ve done 4 years worth of bar product development from granola bars, protein bars, dough bars, snack bars, Quest-like bars, KIND-like bars, fruit filled bars, etc etc etc.

During this time, I dug my hands in copacking, manufacturing, teaching, problem solving, being a mechanic, making benches, sourcing ingredients, and commercializing products that have made millions.

Yet the only reason I can consider myself an expert is a course I took at the University of Wisconsin. Though the piece of paper I got received some merit, my only opinion on true mastery is asking engaging questions and finding the best answers.

But what does it take to be a subject matter expert? Well, a lot of things. I don’t think most subject matter experts think they’re the experts at anything.

So how do you become a subject matter expert? Especially if you don’t feel like one? Here, I tell you the methods used to get to expertise faster.

Ask good questions to people smarter than you

There are people who are smarter than you either because they are older, wiser, or they just have been there longer and you need to respect that.

Asking good questions to experts accomplishes two things. It shows you’re not an idiot and it shows that you want to learn. No matter who you are in whatever field, having a young person ask a good question lights a spark in your brain.

If you want to study how to ask good questions, the best place to start is to listen to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast (wow, great advertising Adam!)….. but in a different way.

Especially in the later episodes, notice how and when I ask the questions to my guests. There are points where I treat question asking like lock picking. You find one really awesome question, ask it, and the guest unlocks a flurry of passion and excitement. This is what you want.

Get your hands dirty

Most product developers don’t understand the nuances of manufacturing. Those that do, are truly experts. Yet it is rare for people in corporate to have manufacturing experience.

As mentioned time and time again, manufacturing is a grueling, unforgivable job but it will accelerate your career path. You don’t even have to do it that long!

But what does it take to get your hands dirty? In my factory job, I had to unclog with my bare hands the following:

Confection Bar Roller
Jelly pump
2000 lb rice bags suspended in mind air
Scrape caramelized rice underneath a dryer
Dig up hardened dough because science sucks

Having this traumatic experiences teaches you sympathy for the workers and teaches you that it’s the formulator’s job to not make this happen!
I would even argue that even if you have experience in an industrial bakery, that still can translate into making protein powders.

At Leclerc, I had to become an expert in granola bars, extruded rice, dog biscuits, crackers and fruit bars all in 1.5 years. It was tough, but extremely rewarding and eventually, you find the threads and secrets on how to acquire information fast. Unfortunately, everyone is different in how they retain information. Some people record things (I can’t do that) so what I do is ask “why”. Why are there 5 zones in a large conveyor oven? What does each section do?

Whenever you approach a process line as an amateur food technologist, it’s best to ask the following:

Q: What are the most common problems for your process line?
A: (example) When we have a high oil product, we have a hard time running the product because it’s slick

Q: What kind of problems have you noticed with our product?
A: (example) The dough hardens in 10 minutes so we have to process it warm

Q: (not really a question) Observe the way the workers are picking up and throwing the ingredients into the mixer. Look at the whole process and see if it simulates the bench process.

This happened to me when I visited a manufacturer in California. I was always taught to heat up syrups, but the factory in California didn’t. So therefore, I was able to create bench samples without heating my syrups! It saved ME a lot of time formulating benches.

Validate you rock

Most courses either from businesses or universities teach techniques that you should be familiar with 80% of the content. If this does not happen, you’re not an expert just yet.

The reason for 80%, is that 80% of a course with 50 people will explain common knowledge, and the 20% should be content you should absorb as new.

The best example I could give is the course I took at the University of Wisconsin. I learned a ton in the course, but a lot of it was the same stuff.

If you know 0% of the material, then you become overwhelmed in the class, but you get a lot of value from it.

Yet if you know 100% of the material, it’s a boring class not worth the effort. This could be the lecturer’s fault but it could also be your fault!

The reason I said 80%, is because the goal for these courses is to have your problems be solved. Therefore, most of the new knowledge you acquire should be asking good questions.

Yet the products you make and the obstacles you overcome should be a good enough validation step to know you’re an awesome human being.

The one thing that I always think of in my past accomplishments is this: would the thing you produce even exist if you didn’t exist? That’s something pretty powerful.

Mastering your domain

Eventually, you gain a sort of confidence when you become a subject matter expert but that just means you have a title to defend.

People will challenge you because you’re young or look stupid. They will doubt your intelligence and try and shut you out in meetings. My only recommendation is to keep your cool and think rationally. As a scientist, you have the power to use data.

As you keep on succeeding and succeeding in your area of expertise, you gain respect. If your haters have no merits and attack you, then the people who matter will only care about who’s accomplished what faster. I’ve learned that complaining uses a lot of energy and I would rather use that energy to get stuff done.

So just accomplish things faster.

Probably the best book about this topic is Relentless, by Michael Jordan’s old coach. This is a really hard hitting book that tells you to really own your domain, work twice as hard as everyone else, and become a vicious animal when it comes to owning your domain.