Emotional Intelligence: The Key to Business?

“What’s amazing about Jho Low is that he’s able to go into a room, see who is powerful,  connect that person to another powerful person, and put himself in the mix” Tom Wright, The Wall Street Journal reporter (and co-author of Billion Dollar Whale).

Emotional Intelligence (“EI”) has been defined as “the ability to monitor one’s own and other people’s emotions, to discriminate between different emotions... and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behaviour” (Peter Salovey and John Mayer).

There are three main models of EI namely:

·       Ability model;

·       Mixed model; and

·       Trait model

High EI individuals are perceived more positively by others – who perceive them as more pleasant, socially skilled and emphatic to be around. Higher EI is also correlated with better social dynamics at work as well as better negotiating ability. It has been noted that having EI as a skill can increase one’s own well being. They have the privilege of enhancing relationships. It provides people with multiple perspectives of a given situation and acknowledges feelings of others.

If we are to learn something about Jho Low is that it is his high EI. He was not brilliant in transferring funds to various entities, as these were all traceable. So the fraud could be easily established. What amazes many is his ability to connect with the levers of power. And proceed to convince them of the merits of his steps. An ability if used correctly would have helped make a difference in the lives of many instead of a few!

"TOM WRIGHT DIVES DEEP WITH BILLION DOLLAR WHALE" (Podcast by BFM)