I’ve never knowingly had my IQ tested but I’m pretty sure they did it in grade school because my teachers constantly told me that my grades were far below what my intelligence tests predicted. I was apparently a slacker before the word was coined.
Intelligence quotient is a validated and still widely accepted measure of one’s reasoning ability. People who possess a high IQ get to what I define as Level One:
You’re smart (high IQ) and that helps you pick up things faster and gets you through school and any career challenges. Your rational mind works well.
About 20 years ago, Daniel Goleman popularized the concept of EQ, one’s Emotional Quotient in his book titled “Emotional Intelligence; Why it can matter more than IQ”. I was instantly a fan of the concept since I’ve always felt that smart matters but not any more or less than social and behavioral skills.
People with both IQ and EQ reach a higher level, let’s call it Level Two:
You’ve gained self-control such as the ability to postpone gratification, you’re empathetic and recognize and utilize the social arts. Your emotional mind works well.
And now I’m ready to propose a third factor in long term success: LQ, one’s “learning quotient” which might bring one to Level Three.
You have whatever you have in IQ and EQ but most of all you have a desire to learn and change.
My LQ idea is unlikely to catch on because it’s neither scientific nor measurable, which both IQ and EQ have become. But I do believe that the thirst and humility that inspires continuous learning and improvement separates the greatest from the great.
“Ancora Imparo” is the statement Michaelangelo made in his 78th year which literally translates to “I am still learning”. Imagine the person broadly acclaimed as the greatest ever at his trade, who had even been deemed prodigious at 15 was yearning to learn more 63 years later.
Through various means our foundation has now supported thousands of people who want to realize their potential. Our most important filter for who we will invest in might surprise you. It is not whether they are bright or socially skilled, though both certainly help. Nor is it enough to have a great idea and mission. Great ideas and missions without learning discipline are pointless.
We test them for their coach-ability. We must go beyond understanding their IQ and EQ, because those are each far less important than their LQ. In fact, we’ve learned that we gain great knowledge from them and their journey.
We seek those who believe, as we do, that:
“Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.”
― Samuel Johnson, The Rambler
What we’ve learned as a foundation is rooted in the desire for scalability and sustainability. The people we invest in generally desire both. Part of our investment in them is imparting the knowledge we’ve assimilated on our 18-year journey. And so we lovingly send the low LQ-types on their way. And we embrace the ones who recognize that whatever got them to where they are, it’s unlikely to get them to where they want to be. There’s never a journey without learning.
Featured Event
Where:
Notre Dame College
Regina Auditorium
4545 College Rd
South Euclid, OH
44121
If you are around Cleveland on October 7th for lunch, please join Bill Leamon and (we hope) hundreds of others out in support of his latest project for first generation college students. As another “practice don’t preach” guy, Bill is our foundation’s Managing Director and a professor at Notre Dame College.
His work has already coordinated and inspired the development of a mentoring platform for college students coming from tough backgrounds. According to March, 2016 EAB research, 75 of 100 of these kids who get to college won’t graduate in six years. I’ve asked Bill to write more detail on this program as our November blog but at lunch on October 7th, at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio, you can experience it first hand. Professor Bill has gathered the 60 first generation freshman at NDC and will introduce them to you and commit together that every single one of them will graduate in four years.
For detailed information, Contact Bill Leamon at wleamon@ndc.edu or 440.503.3126 for more information on the FirstGen Center. Mentors are always needed and opportunities to sponsor future FirstGen classes are available.
Peace,
Tim F. McCarthy
Founder & Chief Mission Officer
The Business of Good Foundation
www.thebusinessofgood.org
tim@thebusinessofgood.org
