… or likeable?” Guy Kawasaki asks Penelope Trunk, author of Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success.
She answer, “People would actually rather work with someone who is incompetent and likeable than competent and unlikable. Most people nod in agreement when they read this. It’s the unlikable people who form arguments in their head.
But there’s more. At work, if you are unlikable, people start thinking you are less competent. So stop thinking you can skate by on your genius IQ because you can’t. You need emotional intelligence as well. This situation is so pronounced that there are special-education classrooms rife with kids who could read when they were three. Social skills matter as much as intelligence when it comes to long-term success, even for the geniuses.”
Her book excerpt provides helpful follow-up advice. After all, if you throw mud you’ll get dirty.
Trunk is an “author, columnist, former executive serial entrepreneur “– leading what Marci Alboher would describe as a slash life. I’ll bet Marty, Dick and Pierre and will also enjoy this lively, timely book.
