However, I digress. The thing that really caught my attention was Auletta’s use of Emotional Intelligence (EQ). I have to say I am so tired of EQ. It’s a strange position to be in as a psychologist, coming out against feelings, or learning more about our emotional world, but what started as an important concept has now become snake-oil for the new millennia. There are EQ clinics, EQ coaching, workbooks and certificates. My concern is that the promise of EQ is way overstated and it is eclipsing the importance of thinking and logic. Contrary to popular opinion our brains are wired for emotion not thought, and despite the attention given to EQ we are, as a population becoming more emotionally reactive, feeling more and thinking less. I’m so frustrated about the misuse of the term I’m making IQ and EQ the subject of my next book.

EQ is not a substitute or replacement for IQ. It is another form of intelligence and forms part of a ‘portfolio’ of multiple intelligences.  John Mayer and Peter Salovey, the originators of the term ‘Emotional Intelligence’ share my concern. They comment, “we agree with many of our colleagues who have noted that the term emotional intelligence is now employed to cover too many things – too many different traits, too many different concepts.”

To be successful in business, in life and in relationships requires a combination of intelligences. I have no problem with Google’s cerebral approach; they are, for me, the eye in a storm of expressed emotion. Maybe we need more Spock’s and fewer Kirk’s, and next time someone says you lack emotional intelligence, ask them to think about what they really mean.