Monday, June 24, 2013

Geniuses are everywhere--there's one!

We all want to get out of that box! In fact, that is now such a cliche, the real deep thinkers are thinking of going back in.

The Mensa Bulletin cited a story from MoneyWatch on the genius deal.

First, the term is context specific. A revered "genius" in one field would not even get noticed in another. Picture Stephen Hawking giving advice to Wendy's on how to increase sales.

Geniuses--so-called--are often a 9 or 10 in one thing, but a 2 or 3 in another.

This article cites three types of geniuses. First, the gregarious type--they have an opinion on everything and don't suffer fools gladly (a fool would be someone with a different opinion). These usually work best as consultants because if they are on staff, someone might go beserk and do them harm.

The second type is the isolated genius. They make few sounds. People wonder if they can even talk. They do not like teams, meetings, or writing reports. They don't interview well.

The third type is the unpredictable genius. You could say, unstable. They can be warm, welcoming of ideas one day, then the next, slow and pessimistic.

If you are one of these three, you need someone else to sing your praises. If you do it yourself, it could be a disaster.

If you hire one of these, make the rules clear--no tantrums, no special treatment.

Check out A First-Rate Madness by Nassir Ghaemi.