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.
