PRACTICAL INTELLIGENCE: Working Smarter in Business and Everyday Life

Practical intelligence? Could this be an oxymoron? Not according to Peters (Psychology/Fort Lewis College), who sees it as a savoir-faire ""savvy"" for today's results minded manager. What is it, then? In short, practical intelligence as defined here is a combination of formal education, street smarts, intuition, common sense, and life and work experience. What isn't it? It has little to do with IQ, which tells us only how well we can expect to do and has nothing to do with ""savvy."" Peters presents his blueprint in an intelligent, non-pop style. And readers sitting down with this book are urged to bring their concentration with them. They will, in turn, be rewarded with a cornucopia of self-enhancing skills, whether it be in leadership, people smarts, verbal or written communication, logical reasoning, mathematical skills, or intuition and creativity. Peters doesn't pretend that what he is teaching is easy. His eight stages of logical-mathematical intelligence, for instance, are summed up in the eighth phase: ""Think till it hurts."" Advice for Peters' readers: read till it hurts. You may find yourself honing a few skills that you didn't even know you had.