Street-Smart versus Book-Smart

In my day to day activity I am increasingly confronted with a new burden: the need to work, communicate and maintain a balance of influence among groups of individuals that are framed as either street-smart or book-smart.  I admit, I struggle with the idea that one is more important than the other. In a society that is increasingly influenced by perceptions and is more connected at a superficial (virtual) level, empirical evidence suggests that street-smart people are doing better, are more prominent and more adapt to the current trends. However, I believe that both types have beneficial influences over the impacted audience.

The way I define this reality is by looking at it from different perspectives:

Book-Smart People                      Street-Smart People

Concerned with Substance            Concerned with Form
Create knowledge                           Able to relate information
Understand the principles              Figure out the application
Generate solutions                          Amplify ideas
Learn through formal education     Learn through observation
Know a lot about few things          Know little about a lot of things
Invent new things                            Innovate and improve
Higher IQ                                         Higher EQ

It is easy to get mesmerized by the ability with which Street-Smart people exploit opportunities in life, by impressing audiences with their extensive “know-what, know-how and know-who”. However, leaders and managers in authoritative positions are frequently confronted with the need to discern between information that is made available to them by Street-Smart versus Book-Smart subordinates. The mission of good management is to separate the real information in the message from the noise.
 
And there is considerable noise in the system;
   • created by unverified or exaggerated information,
   • embedded into the signal through misinterpretation or distortion
   • multiplied through repetition and extrapolation
   • strengthened by buzz-words and name-dropping
   • hidden under the umbrella of charisma and enthusiasm
   • reinforced by bullies and laud, energetic promoters

The unfortunate property of the signal amplifiers is that they magnify indiscriminately the whole wave sound, with all the useful as well as twisted components. There is no distinction between fact and hearsay, between reality and appearance, or between truth and distortion. That is why probing and testing of information accuracy is needed more than ever, in a world where verbal and written interaction has become so intense - due to the mobile, virtual and personal features of the communication tools – and the people are overwhelmingly interconnected.

So what I propose is an analogy with the electronics systems where the useful signal is generated by the Book-Smarts, is amplified and transmitted by the Street-Smarts and filtered and interpreted at the other end by the wise and experienced Manager. The filtering could be done either at the emitting point – although transmission could inject additional noise – or at the receiving end. The trick is to correctly identify the quality of the source, the character of the communicators in the channel, and the motivation of the interpreter.