This article describes ‘deep smarts’ as business expertise gained through years of experience that makes the individual able to make wise, quick strategic and tactical decisions. Deep smarts cannot always be easily attained as most experts that possess them don’t always realize they possess this expertise. Deep smarts consist of skilled ways of thinking, decision making, and behaving that consistently result in success for the individuals that possess them. They are more than just facts and information that anyone is privy to; deep smarts go beyond the surface level and mainly come from experiences. Not everyone can possess these skills. Deep smarts are usually only found in select individuals. Deep smarts are almost more valuable because of the fact that they cannot necessarily be developed on one’s own without observing and shadowing an individual that already has them. No person with deep smarts is exactly the same because their deep smarts are a result of their individual life experiences, education, and mind-set. Because deep smarts are not just consistent of your typical knowledge that anyone could obtain through a degree or minimal experience, it is rare to come across employees that posses this expertise. Deep smarts are developed through experiences, and most individuals don’t know that they have them. These skills result in the natural ability to respond quickly and tactfully to situations that individuals might be presented with, and make the person with deep smarts an asset to any team. In a way, it is the people with deep smarts that are the glue holding things together. Whether it is a process, organization, or project, individuals with deep smarts can be counted on to come through and respond to situations in a very specialized manner. If you do not already possess deep smarts, they can be acquired if you really exert yourself. However, it would take constant, conscious thinking about how the experts in your field operate and specifically trying to learn from those experts. The task of trying to acquire deep smarts would take intense dedication and pure desire to learn and perform at a superior level. Most people who possess deep smarts are experts who don’t always recognize they even have deep smarts. You would have to first identify someone you believe as having deep smarts and make a conscious effort to learn from them. Based on the article’s process of OPPTY, which stands for observation, practice, partnering and joint problem solving, and taking responsibility, one could potentially acquire deep smarts from following this process. First, one would observe the expert at work, constantly analyzing their actions and responses to situations. Then, you would select a specific behavior you would like to work on and practice it on your own, with some supervision and feedback from another individual. Next, you would actively work with the expert to analyze and address challenges you may have experienced when practicing whichever specific behavior or task you selected previously. Lastly, you can take responsibility for a certain aspect of the expert’s role when you feel that you are fully equipped and ready to take on that responsibility. Hopefully, at the end of this process, you will have learned what it takes to be a true expert and will have acquired some essential experience to becoming your own version of the expert you’ve shadowed and learned from. After completing the OPPTY process, you will get the most out of it if you reflect on what you’ve seen and experienced and analyze why things happened the way that they did.
It may be very difficult and take serious desire and dedication to acquire deep smarts. However, if you are successful at learning from this experience and lucky enough to have what you’ve learned stick with you and translate into permanent life skills, you can easily become an asset to anyone you encounter. That could be anything from an employer to just another

individual lacking deep smarts whom you can try to mentor to rub off some of your newly acquired knowledge and experience. There are many areas of your life where you could apply deep smarts, especially in your career.
I can take what I’ve learned from this article to make my career more rewarding by identifying an expert in my field and following the step-by-step OPPTY plan mentioned earlier for “pulling” deep smarts from others. By following this plan, I believe I would be able to emulate some of the characteristics of individuals with deep smarts by uncovering the essential skills that make these individuals so effective and such assets to have on any team. After completing the OPPTY model for acquiring deep smarts, I can evaluate the results of my experience and ask myself what worked, what didn’t and why. This way, I can try to get as much as possible from the individual I chose to shadow throughout this time. Also, I can choose to accrue deep smarts from more than one individual and repeat the OPPTY process with multiple individuals whom I would identify as having deep smarts. After evaluating my experience(s), I can set some short-term and long-term goals for myself based on what I have learned in hopes of gaining deep smarts that will stick with me.
Another thing I can take away from this that would make my career more rewarding is realizing how rare deep smarts are. Not everyone has deep smarts, and if I were fortunate enough to acquire them through the action plan I have learned from this article, I would mentor as many individuals as possible. One day, I could be one of those few who possess deep smarts and, knowing how few people have deep smarts nowadays and how difficult they can be to acquire, I can be as helpful as possible in mentoring others in my field. People with deep smarts are indispensable assets for whatever organization they work for, and they no doubt go on to be very successful individuals. Who says that more of us can’t have deep smarts? If more experts were identified who realized they possess these skills, and if those individuals were willing to help impart their expertise on others, we could mold a new conglomeration of skilled workers. They do not necessarily have to be specialized, as deep smarts are deeper than knowledge and can be applied and adapted to almost any situation.
Having gained the knowledge I have from this article, I may be able to recognize and identify individuals who possess deep smarts and don’t even know it yet. If I am ever in a management position or any position of power, I would hope I could identify and set apart those individuals who may not even know how much of an asset they really are and give them the opportunities they deserve. On the flip side, I could help mentor individuals who don’t have deep smarts to help them become a real asset to work with.
After reading this article, I have learned how to recognize deep smarts. It goes beyond basic knowledge of your field to include how individuals respond efficiently to challenging situations that almost comes as second nature to them through their experiences and expertise. I have learned the OPPTY process for how someone without deep smarts can attempt to learn and acquire these skills. As most individuals don’t realize if they have deep smarts, that is for you to identify, and make a value proposition to the individual where you can help take over some responsibility if they can help you grow and acquire deep smarts. Although it takes serious work, ending up acquiring deep smarts would be well worth all of the effort put in. These individuals are highly skilled and will always get the job done. If we can have more people learn how to acquire deep smarts, we can take off some of the workload on the few individuals who possess deep smarts now, and make for a more well-rounded overall workforce of talented individuals. Because of this, more people should share their knowledge and experiences with others.