Dec

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It is not only about being Smart: Being Smart is Too Easy

December 13, 2007 |

This society seems to value “smart” people. I don’t value being “smart” that much, however.

Smart is something perceived, or observed by others, in my opinion. There are many ways in which it can be perceived, but more often than not it is on instantaneous things and not on long term effects, or execution. Execution, however, is what I value the most. I admire someone with an IQ of 75 that achieves great things a lot more than someone with an IQ of 160 that accomplishes few things.

People want to look smart. They like to talk smart and express views on issues like the environment, society, or politics — maybe I am doing the same here, or maybe I am just being perceived as “dumb”, since I do not conform to the regular “smart thinking” pattern. People also like to dress smart, as in “smart casual” – whatever that means. In a way, being smart can be a variety of fashion: where the actions perceived as smart change by the times – just as people suggest that Christopher Columbus wasn’t all that smart by suggesting it was feasible to reach the Asian continent by traveling West (and didn’t even considered that big mass of land in the middle).

Being smart can be learned.
You can read a few books on culture, politics, and the latest trade buzzwords and sound smart. And you should. People are constantly evaluating you on anything you do or say. You want to look smart. And if you are a businessman, you want your customer-facing business associates to be smart as well: they need to be able to build rapport with potential partners and clients, to connect with them and go be admired by them.

Execution requires practice
Being perceived as smart has nothing wrong with it. It may be a good thing to try not to appear too dumb. As for my way of evaluating people: I will try to keep it at the execution level. What have they achieved?

Listening to execution as opposed to smartness can help you in business, in my opinion. It can be a good indication as to the capability of someone to perform the job you have given him/her. It may also be the way to gain (or loose) some confidence that the person will comply with their end of the contract. Or that your partner will actually help you win business. It is also a good indication of the ability of someone to ramp up to the level they need to be, even if they do not have the skill or ability at that time.

I think an execution oriented person is invaluable. And I have the feeling that many savvy business people around the world believe on this as well. Those with experience look past the smartness in people and go deep into the execution. I guess that is what they call experience.

Execution has two problems, however:

  1. Past performance is no indication of future performance. You have to listen to level of motivation and intentions of continuing the good execution (or improving a bad one).
  2. Takes a while to observe. You can’t replay someone’s life like a movie to find out if that person can execute or not.

Focus on Both
People should keep trying to look smart. And they should also try to be perceived as an execution oriented person. In my opinion, people should dedicate as much time on the later than on the former.


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Flexo on December 14, 2007 3:21 pm

    This entire article is written with a very nasty and incorrect assumption — that being *perceived* as “smart” is the same thing as *being* smart and provides the same benefits.

    You say “Being smart can be learned” and then proceed to write about ways to *seem* smart, not be smart.

    I agree that execution is important — people who *are* smart (not just *appear* smart) will be more likely to execute. People who are *not* smart may execute, but their execution will not be as worthwhile. For example, I don’t want someone without a certain level of mathematical intelligence (ie., without “smarts”) piloting a plane (execution of a difficult task that requires this intelligence).

    I don’t want someone who is not smart negotiating a business deal on my behalf, either. Maybe the not-smart person will get it done faster — but at what expense?

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