Probably destined to be the three musketeers. The trifecta in your survival kit: IQ + EQ + AQ.
Growing up, our parents were all about growing your IQ(Intelligence Quotient). Enter the corporate bull ring, and your HR manager wanted the one with the EQ(Emotional Quotient). The new kid on the block, has come as a manna from heaven and is the glue that holds IQ and EQ together. Thy name is Adaptability Quotient(AQ). And in a zeitgeist where things can spiral downwards or move sideways, it just might be the ammunition for you to land your pot of gold.
Life does throw curveballs( far more regularly than we can anticipate or be prepared for) and when that happens, if you can’t adapt, you are nothing but a fancy car stuck in traffic like the lesser torqued ones. AQ is what helps us navigate the roadblocks, the detours and the occasional meteor strikes. It can be the difference between ” I’m a goner ” to ” I’ve got this “.
The future is as predictable as a toddler on a caffeine high. The only thing that we know for sure amidst the rapidly changing landscape of jobs, technology, society, is the fact that we don’t know anything for sure. The future happens gradually, then all of a sudden. If you don’t want to be caught like a deer in the headlights, embrace AQ. Because by doing that you can enhance your AQ. Where uncertainty and unknown are your comfort zones. Curiosity skilled the cat. Doubt and inquiry are the pillars of progress. Make them your partners in rhyme. And build your AQ muscles as you do that.
Linear journeys are a thing of the past. Life is part intellect, part emotions and part the ability to pivot when the ringmaster changes the act. The sooner we realise that human beings are rough drafts that continually mistake themselves for the final story, then gasp as the plot changes on the page of living.
In a world where trends become mainstream and then rapidly obsolete, where AI and related technologies are rewriting the rules of the game, when it is certainly not business as usual( and probably never will be), AQ is not a nice-to-have anymore. It will be the difference between you riding the wave or getting swallowed by it.
The journey up the corporate food chain will be less about what you know(IQ), or who you know (EQ). And it will be more about how quickly you can unlearn and relearn aka AQ. Counter intuitive. While people with high IQ and EQ are writing their Plan A’s obituary, those with high AQ have Plan B-Z sketched out.
Think of AQ as the yoga pose of life even though you might end up looking like a pretzel rather than a pro yogi.
AQ: The Intelligence Quotient Nobody Told You Need! Time to Q up!