Emotional Intelligence in Business

Throughout history, scientists have tried to measure intelligence in many different ways and formats. These measures of intelligence have been used to rank people in ability, talent and other characteristics. For a business seeking new employees, finding highly intelligent candidates is key. But how much does intelligence truly relate to workplace success? Does emotional intelligence factor in, and if so, how?

IQ, EQ and Business

The business world is continuing to understand how to properly implement the use of EQ for the betterment of their personnel. But since Goleman first used the term in 1995, he has inspired countless organizations to take EQ into consideration. Since publishing his book, Goleman has spoken across the world on how good leaders have a high EQ.

Travis Bradberry, coauthor of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, notes in an article for Forbes that high EQ helps organizations understand the intangibles that make leaders successful. EQ is the strongest predictor of performance; in Bradberry’s studies, 90 percent of top performers are high in EQ and just 20 percent of bottom performers are high in EQ. As far as IQ, people with average IQ scores outperform those with higher IQs a majority of the time.

Should You Buy New or Used Equipment for Your Business?

Deciding whether to buy new or used equipment is a choice more small businesses should be making. That’s because many small business leaders only buy used when they don’t have any other choice. Once they can afford new gear they never go back to pre-owned. While there isn’t much that can be done to magically afford new equipment, there’s no reason companies capable of buying new have to do so every time. In fact, buying pre-owned gear for your business is often preferable to new, as the following examples show:

Vehicles

Anyone who has ever bought a new car from the dealership knows how much the value drops as soon as it’s driven off the lot. With this in mind, there’s rarely a good reason why a business should be buying brand new automobiles when barely used options exist. This is especially the case with utility vehicles, as makes and models available through a pre-owned truck seller like Charter Trucks are typically thousands less than their later model counterparts. This, despite sometimes only having a few thousand miles on the odometer.

Machinery

Whether it’s better to buy new or used machinery for your small business needs is a bit tricky. New technology allows companies to take advantage of state of the art design and sophistication, as well as better secure their ability to adapt in the future. Of course, “state of the art” can also be described as “experimental”; time will tell if the new design will hold up to the demands of commercial manufacturing. Buying pre-owned is preferred so long as two factors are in play: the machine itself has no signs of major repairs, and the design model has a reputation for longevity.