IQ versus AQ

Amar Pandit , CFA , CFP

Amar Pandit

A respected entrepreneur with 25+ years of Experience, Amar Pandit is the Founder of several companies that are making a Happy difference in the lives of people. He is currently the Founder of Happyness Factory, a world-class online investment & goal-based financial planning platform through which he aims to help every Indian family save and invest wisely. He is very passionate about spreading financial literacy and is the author of 4 bestselling books (+ 2 more to release in 2020), 8 Sketch Books, Board Game and 700 + columns.

May 1, 2020 | 2 Minute Read

IQ v\s AQ

There is a lot of weightage given to IQ and in the financial services space we obsess over it too. Many people believe that it is necessary to have a higher IQ to be successful. However, I have a slightly different take on this.

I have 2 statements to make. One is that it is not IQ alone and second is that a base level of IQ is enough for most people to be successful. I strongly believe that most people have it, but it is the AQ that makes all the difference.

AQ is your Action Quotient.

I see a lot of smart people in our industry/profession with above average IQs, but I also see a lot of these same people unable to Act. One person is jumping from Webinar to Webinar. Another one is waiting for the lockdown to be lifted.

Your ability to take action is always the key to success and I strongly believe that it’s not your IQ but your AQ that will determine your success.

The actions that you have taken or not taken have got you today to where you are. Your current actions will determine your future in the COVID-19 world.

Niccolo Machiavelli wrote in the 15th century “The fool does eventually what the wise man would do today”. Learning from this, you would do well doing today what you would eventually do some other day.