[FarmBoy]

Once CEO of a very large bank told me -- not confidentially -- that doesn't hire the smartest people, he hires people he likes to work with, as long as they're "smart enough."

That doesn't surprise me at all. In fact, there's probably good justification for it. You don't need to be a genius to do well in business, but you do need to have good "people skills" along with being decisive and hard working. Being the smartest guy in the room doesn't mean you're going to get the promotion. And the CEO's benchmark for "smart enough" doesn't rule out people who are very smart.

[FarmBoy]

Once CEO of a very large bank told me -- not confidentially -- that doesn't hire the smartest people, he hires people he likes to work with, as long as they're "smart enough."

That doesn't surprise me at all. In fact, there's probably good justification for it. You don't need to be a genius to do well in business, but you do need to have good "people skills" along with being decisive and hard working. Being the smartest guy in the room doesn't mean you're going to get the promotion. And the CEO's benchmark for "smart enough" doesn't rule out people who are very smart.