There’s a popular fallacy in Silicon Valley: Winners hire the most 800 Math SAT people.
There’s a premium on raw intelligence—particularly the math and science type. But it drives people to forget what’s important: It’s not the sum of your employees’ Math SAT scores, it’s the sum of their intelligence, talent, leadership, and perseverance.
And that last element—perseverance—is what you need an especially heady dose of.
Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard, in his book The Soft Edge, taThe smartest people in business are not those with the highest general intelligence, or the overall aptitude for learning, thinking and application. Instead, they’re those who regularly put themselves in situations that require grit.
Yes: grit! How many people on your team would you say have that?
When students apply to business school, they’re often asked to indicate how they've demonstrated grit and tenacity in their lives. Their general intelligence scores matter, yes, but what’s paramount to the admission decision is proof of a “can-do” attitude.
