Interestingly IQ has long been used as a basis to determine peoples’ 
smarts. But what do your results on an IQ test mean when it comes to business? While many folks perform well on IQ tests, does that necessarily mean they have business smarts? Have you ever seen a “book smart” person who could not find his way around a parking lot, let alone design a logo or use that design to win customers?
To be successful in business takes much more than merely the verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences on which our schools currently base most learning and standardized testing.
According to Howard Gardner Ellen Weber and Doug Hall, business leaders and workers alike need many intelligences to meet daily job demands. Ellen Weber asks, “How are We Smart Anyway?” Consider just a few facets for each of the multiple intelligences and see if you agree.
Spatial: design logos, and develops good graphical displays such as PowerPoint to express an organization’s distinctives and vision.
Interpersonal: use excellent social interaction skills such as salesmanship, ability to formulate questions and answers well during board room sessions, or skill in developing new clients through networking. Especially strong acumen in team or collaborative settings. Ability to communicate well with diverse people.
Intrapersonal: disciplined leaders who are ethical and full of well-being. Rather than being needy of others to fill their desires, they are altruistic and give much to others. They are strong in spirit and soul. Besides this, intrapersonally intelligent people easily laugh at themselves. Does this sound opposite to the know-it-all who might well brag about a high IQ and turn everyone off?
Bodily-Kinesthetic: active in sports or exercise to provide the brain with plenty of oxygen for optimal functioning. Uses good body language when communicating with others. Learns to look into peoples’ eyes, smile, shake folks’ hands or gives daily pats on the back.
Naturalistic: follows practices that enhance the environment in the world and workplace. Walks in parks or woods to understand vision through metaphor or to see a big picture in nature. Uses green engineering in buildings to enhance his and workers’ productivity.
Musical: listens to background music to enhance creative flow during problem solving or writing sessions, since music moves the brain waves to enhance work.
Logical-Mathematical: activates logic, organizational and numeric skills with acumen, for profitable business plans, wise cash flow and favorable risks in borrowing and investing.
Verbal-linguistic: uses words and language well for communication in speaking and writing at top organizational levels.
For fun, you would enjoy a survey Ellen Weber designed to determine your current intelligences profile. Keep in mind that intelligences are not fixed, but you can grow strong in those you see as currently weak, just by actively engaging in these daily. Our brains have plasticity that enables change.
Though verbal and numeric are more easily measured since they form the largest part of standardized and IQ testing, creativity and risk taking in other intelligences are full of surprises and ambiguity. Educators recognize Bloom’s taxonomy as a way to order intelligence. And now, Bloom’s New Taxonomy lists creativity at the highest level of cognition. Creativity defies numeric measurement!
Yet, in Intelligence Reframed, Howard Gardner defines intelligence as the ability to create products or solve problems, which have value in the culture where they are produced. This is the new definition of intelligence. Business ventures or products are either chaff, wheat or possibility seeds if developed more fully. In the end, consumers' purchases count to reveal your business smarts!
What do you think? Are several intelligences needed in business? Can business smarts really be measured by IQ tests?
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