Intelligence is Underrated
Marietta — These days, it seems people don’t really appreciate and aspire to intellect, knowledge and learning like they did just a few decades ago, when lots of new and thrilling inventions were completely revolutionizing our day to day world and changing the entire fabric of our societies.
In a fascinating interview from the Scientific American in January, 2014, Scott Barry Kaufman tells us about one of his “favorite science journalists,” Dan Hurley, and Dan’s book entitled, “Smarter: The New Science of Building Brain Power.”
Dan says, “If you want to write a good novel, if you want to work for Google or some other cool company, if you want to complete college – all of those things require some serious intellectual firepower.
Today we live in a knowledge economy, where most of the good jobs require critical thinking, the ability to learn and communicate and understand complexities. Factory work is disappearing. Getting smarter empowers you to succeed in life.”
Read the entire article here.
#EncourageExcellence
Bryan
Polarization seems to be everywhere today and it will probably get worse unless we take the proactive approach of engaging others who might disagree with our own worldview.
We, as Americans, have won life’s lottery in many ways by just living in the USA during the current century. Our way of life is the envy of the world and we have a huge responsibility to not squander the opportunities that we have been given.
A lot of our coworkers and even our children may have never experienced a “recession” before. One thing we can absolutely be certain of is change. My former GE CEO, Jack Welch, was fond of telling us that we must embrace change because we can’t stop it. He even wrote a book entitled, “Control your own destiny, or someone else will” We can’t be afraid of change. We need to embrace it. Times will become uncertain but that’s OK. Reassure your friends, family, and coworkers that everything is cyclical. Our US economy will adapt and overcome like it has for over two centuries.
The “Great Recession” may have only happened 13 years ago but some of us folks have lived and worked through 6 or 7 recessions. We know that recessions will end and we will see the change in our economy and the way we live our lives. “Experienced” individuals and managers need to step up and lead by example to help those who might be nervous or lacking confidence. Remember to encourage excellence in everything we do. Some of our biggest and most successful companies have been started during recessions. Use your creative minds to stay sharp and don’t let fear creep into your thoughts as we weather some of the storms ahead. We WILL get through this period and be better and stronger. 
Bryan E. Wilson 