Working with SMEs: Lessons Learned from Ella Fitzgerald

My passion for working with subject matter experts is an outgrowth from my early career as a daily journalist. I had the opportunity to interview famous, talented, brilliant people…and some big-time politicians, too. 

Of all the greats I have had the great fortune to meet, Ella Fitzgerald stands out among the crowd. I was in my mid-20s, and she was in her mid-70s. Go ahead, do that math. We were both in our prime. Preparing for that interview taught me one of the foundational lessons that I carried forward into other work with subject matter experts – do your homework!

Ella Fitzgerald is nothing if not the ultimate female vocalist. Her talent went beyond jazz – although it can be stated with some confidence she helped define the genre. She also delivered popular music with a melodic flair and clear voice. I am still in awe over her delivery of A Tisket A Tasket at 70-something in a crystalline, little girl voice.

Know Your Subject Matter Expert

When I was given the opportunity to be alone in a room (seriously) with possibly the greatest female vocalist of all time, I was – let’s just say – nervous. Excited and nervous. What does one ask Ella Fitzgerald?

My father was a jazz pianist. I grew up on Satin Doll. So I told Dad, who was flabbergasted by this opportunity. I needed some help here. What should I ask her? What would you want to know, as someone who has played her book for 30 years?

Boy, am I glad I asked him. He gave me wisdom that has served me well in my career as a journalist, writer and trainer. Get familiar with your subject matter expert before you meet with them.

If you get only one shot at speaking with someone of that caliber, and trust me, you get only one very limited window, make sure you find out something important. Use your time with them wisely. His first advice? “Whatever you do, don’t ask her how she got started. Everybody knows about the Apollo in Harlem. She’ll blow you off as a stupid kid and you won’t get another question. Go read about her background then ask her something about music.”

I didn’t have his background in music, so I downloaded some info from Pop.

“What should I ask her?”

He thought about her material, her records, what he played, and asked why she did certain things on certain songs. I had some meaty questions that had some knowledge behind them.

A Blur

I got in to see her with my little reporter’s notebook, no doubt damp from sweat. I asked her dad’s questions. She was interested, really interested. She liked the questions. We had a little singer’s talk. And to this day, it was a blur.

In fact, I recently found the program from the show and now I need to find my article. Somehow, as I look back, that was such a defining moment I need to make sure I’ve preserved it for my dotage.

For you, as a trainer and instructional designer, what are the takeaways?

Two Lessons from The Ella Experience

Do your homework. That means know enough not to ask such a stupid question that your SME disregards you. You won’t get what you need because you don’t really understand the background and context, and you won’t get what you need because the SME won’t waste his or her time bothering to tell you.

Record and document. An interview with a world-class subject matter expert is a once in a lifetime shot to get some valuable information and perhaps even record that person for posterity. No, I wasn’t allowed to record my interview with Ella. But make sure you try to record the incredibly intelligent and experienced people you will meet so you don’t miss anything in the blur of the moment. Ask permission as necessary.

Not all subject matter experts are in the class of Ella Fitzgerald. But there are people of her caliber in all areas of endeavor and all walks of life, yes, even politics. As someone who designs, writes and delivers training, you are sure to encounter people who have risen to the top of their organization or their field all the time.

Respect them all. Honor their greatness. And get to know them before they get to know you.

Doing Succession Planning? Find Your Internal Experts

When you do succession planning for your organization, start by asking yourself some critical questions as you begin the process of finding your internal subject matter experts. By identifying some initial information, you will ensure that you are talking to the right people and asking the right questions as you collect valuable information that allows your company to thrive beyond the work lives of the experts under your roof.

We’ve all heard of people who have been laid off during downsizing or have retired after 30 years of service only to be called back to their desks under a lucrative independent contract because, when they left, they took critical information or skills with them. With a proactive succession management plan in place on an ongoing basis, companies can save themselves the costs of these valuable contracts and your retired employees can move to Hawaii, even if they are less enriched by the generosity of the company that found it could not go on smoothly without them.

Finding Your Critical SMEs Before They Leave

To find your critical SMEs, ask these questions: What is it that makes your business hum? is it your great products? Your incredible customer service? Your patented product that is nearly impossible to reverse engineer? The personalities of the core founders? The people who understand your financials? The person who does your data analysis?

When you can identify what keeps your customers coming back for more, you will have isolated the knowledge, skills and attitudes that need to be preserved. It’s not as easy as it sounds, but not as difficult as you might think, either.

Rest assured that it is not just one product, one person, or one department that holds the key to your company’s value in the marketplace. The essence of what makes your company hum is a combination of the people, processes and information that come together as your distinctive brand.

Look Beyond Your Secret Sauce

Think of the fast food hamburger. People may come to the drive-up to get a tasty burger with “sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun”. But they may be able to get an equally tasty burger across the street. What is it that keeps them coming back to your drive-up?

Perhaps it is the smiling servers, clean restrooms, dependable quality of the food and the utensils that make the whole experience reliably enjoyable. So while you need to make sure you have the recipe for the burger, you also need to be talking to maintenance about their cleaning schedule, human resources about their customer service training, public relations about the promotions and vendor management about the paper products and bakery suppliers.

Do Succession Planning In An Organized Way

While this is a simple and obvious example, when you extend it to what is probably your much more complicated business, it will help you think through all the important aspects of your organization when you are doing a 360 degree succession plan – one that leaves no stone unturned. The best way to drill down and find your internal experts is to look at your organizational matrix and analyze it by functional area.

Who does what? Who else, if anyone, can do it? What do your knowledge workers know?

You may find it is that quiet guy in the corner who has been turning out reports and talking on the phone to your customers who you may have to call back out of retirement because, in his absence, people really notice what he did.