Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the US Federal Reserves, once said, ‘In a crisis the only asset you have is your credibility.’
By extension, this means as an influencer, you shouldn’t pull instructions out of thin air and advise the populace to act on that.
However, this is not the case in the area of public policy making.
Many policies are based upon the work of theorizers who really have nothing to lose in the event that things go wrong. If things go fine, they get the accolades and if things go wrong, they are still able to publish their theories in journal articles and opinion pieces of popular newspapers.
You see the same patterns play out in the online marketing and personal development space. As with the policy theorists, many people in this niche do not have anything to lose. If things go as planned, they get a testimonial out of you. And if things do not go as planned, you’d still have spent your $2599 on their courses.
Here’s a useful heuristic: Before you commit yourself to any individual’s advice, ask yourself, what does he have to lose if he is wrong?