Intelligence Is Overrated: What You Really Need to
Succeed
By Keld Jensen | Forbes
Albert Einstein’s was estimated at
160, Madonna’s is 140, and John F. Kennedy’s was only 119, but as it turns out,
your IQ score pales in comparison with your EQ, MQ, and BQ scores when it comes
to predicting your success and professional achievement.
IQ tests are used as an indicator of logical reasoning ability and technical
intelligence. A high IQ is often a prerequisite for rising to the top ranks of
business today. It is necessary, but it is not adequate to predict executive
competence and corporate success. By itself, a high IQ does not guarantee that
you will stand out and rise above everyone else.
Research carried out by the Carnegie Institute of Technology shows that 85
percent of your financial success is due to skills in “human engineering,” your
personality and ability to communicate, negotiate, and lead. Shockingly, only
15 percent is due to technical knowledge. Additionally, Nobel Prize winning
Israeli-American psychologist, Daniel Kahneman, found that people would rather
do business with a person they like and trust rather than someone they don’t,
even if the likeable person is offering a lower quality product or service at a
higher price.
With this in mind, instead of exclusively focusing on your conventional
intelligence quotient, you should make an investment in strengthening your EQ
(Emotional Intelligence), MQ (Moral Intelligence), and BQ (Body Intelligence).
These concepts may be elusive and difficult to measure, but their significance
is far greater than IQ.
Emotional Intelligence
EQ is the most well known of the three, and in brief it is about: being aware
of your own feelings and those of others, regulating these feelings in yourself
and others, using emotions that are appropriate to the situation,
self-motivation, and building relationships.
Top Tip for Improvement: First, become aware of your inner dialogue. It
helps to keep a journal of what thoughts fill your mind during the day. Stress
can be a huge killer of emotional intelligence, so you also need to develop
healthy coping techniques that can effectively and quickly reduce stress in a
volatile situation.
Moral Intelligence
MQ directly follows EQ as it deals with your integrity, responsibility, sympathy,
and forgiveness. The way you treat yourself is the way other people will treat
you. Keeping commitments, maintaining your integrity, and being honest are
crucial to moral intelligence.
Top Tip for Improvement: Make fewer excuses and take responsibility for
your actions. Avoid little white lies. Show sympathy and communicate respect to
others. Practice acceptance and show tolerance of other people’s shortcomings.
Forgiveness is not just about how we relate to others; it’s also how you relate
to and feel about yourself.
Body Intelligence
Lastly, there is your BQ, or body intelligence, which reflects what you know
about your body, how you feel about it, and take care of it. Your body is
constantly telling you things; are you listening to the signals or ignoring
them? Are you eating energy-giving or energy-draining foods on a daily basis?
Are you getting enough rest? Do you exercise and take care of your body? It may
seem like these matters are unrelated to business performance, but your body
intelligence absolutely affects your work because it largely determines your
feelings, thoughts, self-confidence, state of mind, and energy level.
Top Tip For Improvement: At least once a day, listen to the messages
your body is sending you about your health. Actively monitor these signals
instead of going on autopilot. Good nutrition, regular exercise, and adequate
rest are all key aspects of having a high BQ. Monitoring your weight,
practicing moderation with alcohol, and making sure you have down time can dramatically
benefit the functioning of your brain and the way you perform at work.
What You Really Need To Succeed
It doesn’t matter if you did not receive the best academic training from a top
university. A person with less education who has fully developed their EQ, MQ,
and BQ can be far more successful than a person with an impressive education
who falls short in these other categories.
Yes, it is certainly good to be an intelligent, rational thinker and have a
high IQ; this is an important asset. But you must realize that it is not
enough. Your IQ will help you personally, but EQ, MQ, and BQ will benefit
everyone around you as well. If you can master the complexities of these unique
and often under-rated forms of intelligence, research tells us you will achieve
greater success and be regarded as more professionally competent and capable.
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