There are many instances where a credential — like a certificate, a license, or a degree — is essential. Nobody wants a

Famous colleges rely on a perception of scarcity. We think “it’s hard to get into those schools,” and therefore value their credentials more. Our cooperation and belief is what builds their reputation. In exchange, we can see a degree from a famous school as a status symbol. They’re only famous because we want them to be famous. We want them to be famous because our society places greater value on credentials than ability.

The modern credentialing system was designed to maintain the consistency of our industrial output. But over time, that system has expanded to create a roadblock. By relying on certificates and degrees to confer expertise, we slow down people who would otherwise make change happen by trying things out.

I think the opposite is true. Credentialing lulled us into false confidence about who was actually an expert. The fact that you have a degree doesn’t mean you have insight, experience, or concern. You’ve acquired a piece of paper, but that doesn’t mean you care.

From The Practice: Shipping Creative Work by Seth Godin, published by Portfolio, an imprint of the Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2020 by Do You Zoom Inc.

From an early age, high achievers are taught to sacrifice independent thought for a good grade. We’re taught that compliance will be rewarded by “being picked.” And the biggest pick for many kids is the approval that comes from gaining admission into a famous college.

In the Wizard of Oz, when the Wizard gave the Scarecrow his diploma, he didn’t give him anything that he didn’t already have. The paper was unnecessary external validation that helped the Scarecrow find the trust he probably could have captured on his own. The Scarecrow already had what he needed.

There’s a myth that a “famous college” is the same thing as a “good college.” But there’s no evidence that the quality of an education depends on whether or not an institution is well-known.

Our credential-obsessed society teaches high achievers to equate success with approval from an external authority. Unfortunately, this outlook undermines your ability to trust yourself.

From The Practice: Shipping Creative Work by Seth Godin, published by Portfolio, an imprint of the Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2020 by Do You Zoom Inc.

But being a staff writer had its challenges. It was competitive and everything moved at breakneck speed. (Nothing like an awards show interrupted by Suge Knight wearing a Dead Man Walking T-shirt with Snoop’s face on it to make you realize work could involve a stampede!)

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te? Had he booked meetings back-to-back or something? I get why someone would do this. It’s convenient. Who wants to drive through a lot of L.A. traffic to meet a bunch of people when you can stagger different meetings right after another?

Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, I worked at a music magazine. I was in my twenties and having a blast. I tagged along while Redman and Method Man filmed How High. I watched Common work on Like Water for Chocolate at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in NYC. I interviewed every member of Wu-Tang Clan at a photoshoot. It was the good ol’ days.

After all, if you haven’t “been picked,” you’re off the hook. And if you don’t have the means to apply or pay for the credential, you don’t even have to bother getting rejected, because you’ve already rejected yourself.

I’m not provoking you to become a charlatan (or to follow one). But we should all take the opportunity that’s available to engage in the long process of earning genuine expertise, in service of making a change.

Rejecting the trap of credentialing opens the door to fake experts. If no credential is needed — if everyone is qualified, leveraged, and able to do this job — aren’t we inviting hacks and charlatans in to do important work?