I DIDN'T ALWAYS KNOW THIS. WISH I DID.

"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't."

Anatole France, late 19th/early 20th century French poet.

I can't imagine many who were born knowing this; I know I wasn't.

But I do now and I'm much better off as a result.

And you?

SO MUCH MORE THAN IQ

"We should not pretend to understand the world only by the intellect. The judgement of the intellect is only part of the truth."

Carl Jung, 20th century Swiss psychiatrist.

We're all born with some level of intelligence but what we do or don't do with it is another matter.

And understanding that is itself a sign of high intelligence.

DO YOU KNOW?

"Wisdom and deep intelligence require an honest appreciation of mystery."

Thomas Moore, early 19th century Irish poet

Paraphrasing, the truly intelligent know there is and always will be much more they don't know than there is that they do know.

Do you know?

INTELLIGENT INTENTION

"Our actions are the results of our intentions and our intelligence."

E. Stanley Jones, 20th century theologian

Hopefully you are intelligent enough to see this.

However, if not, but your intention is to accept it as true, good enough.

GOOD NEWS IF YOU THINK YOURSELF WISE!

"Time ripens all things; no man is born wise."

Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) 

Spanish novelist/dramatist/poet.

This means there are no limits to how wise you can become.

The first step is to recognize you are not as wise as you think.

The second step is to be open to all new ideas and things.

There are, of course, many more steps but do this much and you'll be wise enough to discover them yourself.

WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?

"Own more than thou showest, speak less than thou knowest."

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) British poet and playwright.

The less you say about what you believe you know, the more you say about what you do know.

I THINK SO

"No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness."

Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) Greek philosopher.

And only the truly mad, those who think themselves to be only genius, would think otherwise.

What do you think?

YOU DON'T SAY!

"As it is the characteristic of great wits to say much in few words, so small wits seem to have the gift of speaking much and saying nothing."

François de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French writer.

Less is often more, wiser too.

THE HEART (AND BRAIN) OF THE MATTER

"Where the heart lies, let the brain lie also."

Robert Browning (1812 -1889) British poet.

Very poetic but when it comes to business, also difficult to do.

It's not a matter of the heart or brain (our emotional and rational selves) being in charge; neither needs to always follow the other.

Better the right one leads when circumstance calls for what each do best.

SITTING IN JUDGMENT OF YOUR WIT

"Less judgment than wit is more sail than ballast."

William Penn (1644-1718) British religious leader

However you define "wit", without an appropriate amount of judgment, too much of (w)it is too much.

GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER

"It is well for the heart to be naive and the mind not to be."

Anatole France (1844-1924) French writer.

However, since the heart often rules the mind there can be problems, particularly when making investments.

When it comes to business listen to your heart but make decisions with your mind.

THE PERILS OF INCOMPLETE INTELLIGENCE

"Better to be ignorant of a matter than half know it."

Publilius Syrus (1st Century BC) Roman writer and poet

I respectfully suggest an edit.

Better to be ignorant of a matter than half know it, taking action as though you knew it all.

I've been guilty of this, what about you?

WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

"Some students drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle."

Unknown

Not just students.

We're all occasionally guilty of "learning" we never use.

So Much More!

"Cleverness is serviceable for everything, sufficient for nothing."

Henri Frederic Amiel

19th century Swiss writer

Clever, intelligent, charming, educated . . . whatever adjective you wish, is not enough alone to succeed in business.

Successful business people are often many of these things, and more, all at once.

The Art of Business

"Art . . . the end result of perception, wisdom, intelligence, discipline, hard work, passion, luck, accident, and coincidence."

Unknown

Strike "art" and we're talking business even though the more analytical among you, MBA's in particular (chill, I'm one too), would likely say there is no connection between the two.

Knowing the Difference

 
"Though wisdom cannot be gotten for gold, still less can be gotten without it."

Samuel Butler

17th century British poet

That's the easy part, the hard part is deciding what is and is not "wisdom" (a question I grapple with in BW 5 days a week.)

How do you decide?

Don't Confuse Them

"Cleverness is not wisdom."

Euripides

4th century BC Greek playwright

And assuming otherwise is a common mistake made by many of us who consider ourselves clever.

What about you?

How Are We Doing?

"Remember, even at a Mensa convention, someone is the dumbest person in the room."

Unknown

And in a not so smart crowd, someone is the smartest.

While much is made of our individual talents, is enough considered about how well the group does?

Open Minded: Seeing Both Sides at Once

"The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function."

F. Scott Fitzgerald

This seems simple enough but in practice it's not for many. Emotion takes over and we tend to do whatever it was we were predisposed to do in the first place.

But can you think of any other management trait more desirable than the ability to challenge one's own preconceived notions?

Do you?