Andy Raynor - Beyond the Brief

Andy Raynor's blog

Show some emotion....

Ah, Paris. Sunlight on the Seine, Citroens, men in strangely coloured crimplene fashions....what more could you want...

You know when you find yourself in a situation and think you’ve stepped out of a dream? When you think you know what happened next? That you’ve lived it before?

There’s a film in this somewhere, but it just happened to me with a difference. I found myself living a past blog.

It involved what appeared to be five perfectly normal people having a “discussion” about whether anything was worthwhile if you can’t measure it.

We were sober, so it gets worse before it gets better. The subject-that-cannot-be-measured is, has always been and always will be, the most important piece of knowledge in business.

Which makes it all the more challenging that:

• Most of us don’t talk about it
• Many don’t get it at all
• You can’t buy one.

Any guesses? The clue – and only a clue – is in the title.

This is about Emotional Intelligence.

Confused? You’re not alone, and there's not much help available.

If you start with Wikipedia you’re simply going to be left with the feeling that a psychologist invents a theory....then another one does, and another.....they all armwrestle for a bit....someone slightly thicker comes along to try to measure it.....and fails.....whilst the rest of the academic universe says it all has no intellectual merit and you’re banned from the common room.

Look, I’m not going to gas about this any longer. Emotional Intelligence, EQ, is never ever going to be something you can objectively measure...in fact, if you could, it probably wouldn’t be EQ at all.

But it – self-awareness, understanding your impact on others, social skills, empathy, motivation – is the most important piece of kit there is.

Aside from being the Intelligence of Life, it now should be given pride of place as the most basic business skill.

EQ.

The unmeasurable, inescapable, essential. Even thinking about it makes you a better leader.

Tell me what you think at andy@andypraynor.com

And see what's been said before by looking in the archive:

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© Andy Raynor 2013

	Andy Raynor - Beyond the Brief

	Andy Raynor's blog *Show some emotion....* Ah, Paris. Sunlight on the Seine, Citroens, men in strangely coloured crimplene fashions....what more could you want... You know when you find yourself in a situation and think you’ve stepped out of a dream? When you think you know what happened next? That you’ve lived it before? There’s a film in this somewhere, but it just happened to me with a difference. I found myself living a past blog. It involved what appeared to be five perfectly normal people having a “discussion” about whether anything was worthwhile if you can’t measure it. We were sober, so it gets worse before it gets better. The subject-that-cannot-be-measured is, has always been and always will be, the most important piece of knowledge in business. Which makes it all the more challenging that: • Most of us don’t talk about it • Many don’t get it at all • You can’t buy one. Any guesses? The clue – and only a clue – is in the title. This is about Emotional Intelligence. Confused? You’re not alone, and there's not much help available. If you start with Wikipedia you’re simply going to be left with the feeling that a psychologist invents a theory....then another one does, and another.....they all armwrestle for a bit....someone slightly thicker comes along to try to measure it.....and fails.....whilst the rest of the academic universe says it all has no intellectual merit and you’re banned from the common room. Look, I’m not going to gas about this any longer. Emotional Intelligence, EQ, is never ever going to be something you can objectively measure...in fact, if you could, it probably wouldn’t be EQ at all. But it – self-awareness, understanding your impact on others, social skills, empathy, motivation – is the most important piece of kit there is. Aside from being the Intelligence of Life, it now should be given pride of place as the most basic business skill. *EQ.* The unmeasurable, inescapable, essential. Even thinking about it makes you a better leader. Tell me what you think at andy@andypraynor.com And see what's been said before by looking in the archive:
	Home \| Why? \| Me \| You \| Advisers \| Blog \| Links \| Contact	© Andy Raynor 2013