Emotional and Social Intelligence

One of the frequent answers that I give to people when they ask me "What did they never teach you in an MBA that you wish they had?" is "Emotional Intelligence"

The reason is that the complexity of knowledge has ensured that no one knows everything they need to, in order to get a job done. There is always the need to interact and work with others to get it done. While B Schools let you experience that reality by ensuring people work in groups, I still feel that teaching Emotional Intelligence as a theory is much needed. That is why this news gladdened my heart !

This fall, Columbia Business School launched a new program for full-time MBA students designed to increase their so-called "social intelligence," or ability to successfully maintain interpersonal relationships. The new Program on Social Intelligence (PSI) is integrated into the curriculum, student clubs and other extracurricular activities, the career search, and even study groups.

The program also features a series of speakers, which recently included an appearance by Daniel Goleman, author of Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships