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Deal With the Brilliant Jerks You Work With

posted by Dopefish on Friday February 28 2014, @07:00AM   Printer-friendly
from the stupid-is-as-stupid-does dept.

AnonTechie writes "In business, intelligence is always a critical element in any employee, because what we do is difficult and complex and the competitors are filled with extremely smart people. However, intelligence isn't the only important quality. Being effective in a company also means working hard, being reliable, and being an excellent member of the team. Companies where people with diverse backgrounds and work styles can succeed have significant advantages in recruiting and retaining top talent over those that don't."

 
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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Daniel Dvorkin on Friday February 28 2014, @04:51PM

    by Daniel Dvorkin (1099) on Friday February 28 2014, @04:51PM (#8587) Journal

    Which is generally true who think they're brilliant jerks: most of them are just jerks, and thinking they're brilliant is part of their jerkiness.

    I've worked with a whole lot of very smart people over the years, who had the usual range of personality types, from jerks to saints and everything in between--and a select few I'd say were truly brilliant, who were without exception also really likeable. This is too small a sample size from which to draw conclusions, but there it is.

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  • (Score: 1) by similar_name on Friday February 28 2014, @06:09PM

    by similar_name (71) on Friday February 28 2014, @06:09PM (#8651)
    Being a jerk does not appear to be a beneficial trait. It should be considered that compassion and empathy are traits considered to have developed with warm blooded animals like birds and mammals. Many of our social behaviors exist because they are beneficial to our survival. If someone lacks the natural instincts (cognitive and chemical) for social behavior but has high intellect, they should be able to supplant those instincts with a little subroutine in their head. They should also have the advantage of selecting those behaviors more suited to modern society over those more suited to primitive times.

    On the other hand, people are people and defining brilliance is difficult. Jerks also may not lack instinct, but have instincts that are not compatible with those around them.