A boring world!

Being called stupid, at school, was fairly routine! You failed a test, in Math, and not only were you stupid but your very future was in jeopardy. By definition, the flip side of being stupid was being intelligent. Those were the types, that had their collective noses glued to books all the time & came up with the right answers ( as from books ) and invariably indulged each other with high fives every time, one or other of the group cracked a problem, which would be incomprehensible to the rest, of the class. Intelligence, as we know and schools seem to tout is restricted to books and further drills down to Mathematical & vocabulary skills.Of what good is being good at a sport? Does it make any sense to sing well? Is it any good being a painter?
Due to the inability of many a teacher & schools to comprehend that intelligence, is not a mathematical equation, but a fuzzy, grey area, a whole lot of students have gone through life believing that they were stupid.Many have spent, time in a cobwebby corner, having been termed a dunce, contemplating a bleak future!
A story- A bright young kid, is all set to join an upmarket & prestigious school, after passing the mandatory, math & English test. He says in his biography " On receiving the math paper, I stared at it, for a while. Then I entered my name on the foolscap, posted the #1 and copied the first question. Not knowing what to do next, I circled the # 1, very neatly and handed in the paper after waiting for an hour"
Sir Winston Churchill went on to become one of the most admired leaders, that the last century has thrown up.Was Churchill stupid?

And then came the theory of MI. The theory of multiple intelligences was developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University. It suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, based on I.Q. testing, is far too limited. Instead, Dr. Gardner proposes eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential in children and adults. These intelligences are:

Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"):
Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")
Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")
Musical intelligence ("music smart")
Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")
Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")
Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")

Gardner also showed that different people march to different tunes & learn differently. So if a person does not learn something, maybe you should check the way he is being taught and wait a while before he/she is termed stupid and relegated to the dunce's corner!

Also, I belive that the world would be very boring place, if we only had guys, who were strong in mathematical & language skills!Just imagine, a world devoid of the 'Pirouette' of a ballerina!

Multiple Intelligence!

I was touched by the moving tale of a young Pakistani family's trip to India, to have their child operated upon, for a complicated heart condition. Apparently the operation was successful & the family was treated extremely well in Delhi. They hope to return in year or so, for a second operation.

Recently the Times of India has launched an initiative to improve people to people contact and understanding, this against Government to Government talks, which seem to go nowhere.

A few years ago, while in Dubai, my ship had a sentry. A quiet fellow we would exchange few words. I always thought he was Indian till I learnt that he was from Lahore & had been an army soldier. Post this we swapped a lot of stories & when we were leaving the Port I invited him over to lunch with us & presented him a company 'T Shirt'.The chap was immensely touched and having grown up on staple anti India propaganda in the army, would hopefully have altered his view about Indian's a tad.The sentry had a common story to tell- how his agent in Pakistan had duped him into coming to Dubai & once he did he found life tough and payment poor. He was looking to return home at the end of his one year contract, to be with his family.At the end of the lunch the chap was in tears.......more so because he did not expect to share a meal with officer's in our hierarchy driven world, where we live in societies with a high Power Distance Index.

Apparently Indian visitor's to Pakistan, during cricket matches were treated like royalty and returned a happy lot!

In that context people to people contact is wonderful but will stop short of achieving anything tangible unless Government's make a breakthrough through negotiation.While many may differ, I think the Indian Government is doing a wonderful job. They talk but keep their guard up.............That is the way forward, at a more serious level you cannot negotiate all starry eyed & full of romance.

However, all attempts to build cultural understanding and intelligence must be encouraged, because that is what distances prejudice and rancour.At the more micro level, I think the same holds true for an organization as well.As a manager, in a global world Cultural Intelligence is as fundamental as is Emotional Intelligence and intrinsic IQ.

It is also important that as Manager's we are equipped with an array of Intelligences to be successful.