Domain Experts are often not the right people to innovate and disrupt their own domain.

Domain Experts are often not the right people to innovate and disrupt their own domain.

Rethinking overcomplicated systems, processes, industries, and disciplines often requires a fresh pair of eyes, a learner mindset, a willingness to ask "dumb" questions, and excellent craft.

Experienced product managers, product marketing managers, and product designers with this kind of fresh perspective can often spot unnecessary jargon, unhelpful mental models, and mismatched categorizations a mile away.

Simplifying and clarifying these complexities is often at the heart of eliminating inefficiency, waste, and pain. Eliminating inefficiency, waste, and pain is at the heart of innovation and disruption.

So, when thinking about hiring PMs, PMMs, and designers - not only is prior experience in your domain not necessarily important, but it can actually work against their success.

Instead, a) look for craftspeople with incredible taste, judgment, intuition, and process b) pair them up with domain experts, and watch the magic happen.