THE scientific and technological advancements have been made                                                                                          
possible by the increasing specialisation of human knowledge                                                                                          
that has led to breakthroughs in physics, chemistry, IT and                                                                                           
medical sciences.                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
The human intellect is challenged and teams of brilliant                                                                                              
researchers applied IQ to specify the issue and to drive it to                                                                                        
new discoveries, innovations and applications. The application                                                                                        
of IQ has, undoubtedly, been responsible for much of the                                                                                              
success of mankind on the scientific and technological front.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
All institutions of learning from kindergarten to university                                                                                          
pursue IQ and graduates are discriminated by the class of the                                                                                         
degree or the grade of the school certificate.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
There is the mistaken notion that as high IQ produces good                                                                                            
academic scores, it is the key to success. But is it? Yes, if                                                                                         
one's career is in research; yes and no if one's success in                                                                                           
life depends also on other factors.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
In the world of business in which teamwork is the definition                                                                                          
of the word management, IQ can secure the job but does not                                                                                            
guarantee the promotion. The other factor, recognised for so                                                                                          
long by Asian businesses, is emotional intelligence (EQ),                                                                                             
which is now only making an appearance in Western literature.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
The core of EQ is the ability to relate with people through                                                                                           
interpersonal skills. EQ is the requirement of leadership,                                                                                            
particularly during tough, uncertain and turbulent times.                                                                                             
While IQ conveys a sense of arrogance, EQ suggests empathy                                                                                            
with others.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
In political processes, it is EQ that really counts and                                                                                               
explains why President Joseph Estrada, man of the people, not                                                                                         
a man associated with high formal education, was elected to                                                                                           
the highest office in the Philippines.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Throughout the world, educational systems and learning have                                                                                           
been biased towards the development of IQ. In Asian societies                                                                                         
this bias has been most pronounced from the mandarin                                                                                                  
examination process of old China to the elitist schools of                                                                                            
Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
In many cases the pursuit of academic grades has been achieved                                                                                        
at the expense of all other pursuits. Yet, for a long time                                                                                            
Cecil Rhodes and other benefactors had recognised that the                                                                                            
rounded person is the superior being and scholarships in their                                                                                        
names have insisted on a display of excellence in other                                                                                               
pursuits.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
These other pursuits generally related to extra-curricular                                                                                            
activities of the likes of debating, union presidency, the                                                                                            
uniformed groups and the sports field. These areas of                                                                                                 
non-academic activities are the laboratory for developing EQ.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
In more recent times, adventure learning, team-building                                                                                               
exercises and sensitivity training contribute to developing                                                                                           
EQ.                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
There is yet a third challenge for the manager of the future.                                                                                         
Business practices have been open to challenge fuelled by a                                                                                           
series of continuing scandals of the likes of Lockheed and the                                                                                        
urgent call for transparency, ethical behaviour and                                                                                                   
accountability.                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
Globalising business opens new frontiers for bribery and                                                                                              
corruption, opting for short-term solutions at the expense of                                                                                         
ecology, safety and equal opportunity. And managers are being                                                                                         
sucked into a culture of materialism with the loss of soul.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Recognising that the nobility of a profession lies in its code                                                                                        
of ethics, where is the nobility of management as a                                                                                                   
professional practice? Towards this end, responsible companies                                                                                        
are devising a code of behaviour for their managers and                                                                                               
schools of business are beginning to introduce business ethics                                                                                        
into their curriculum.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
The notion that in business there is the line between right                                                                                           
and wrong, between what can be done and what cannot be done                                                                                           
and between good and bad behaviour has come.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
The defining characteristic for such behaviour is spiritual                                                                                           
intelligence (SQ) and the quality is the ability to discern                                                                                           
proper from improper conduct and to act accordingly. While                                                                                            
thereat religions espouse SQ, the concept is non-religious and                                                                                        
applies to all managers, whether deeply religious by                                                                                                  
conviction or free thinker by choice.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Managing with soul is the new frontier of management. To                                                                                              
harness the spirit of Man for the betterment of society                                                                                               
through continuing economic and social development is Man's                                                                                           
destiny. But Man has been blinded by intellectual arrogance                                                                                           
and has oftentimes exploited emotional sentiments for narrow                                                                                          
and selfish interests.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
The legacy of parents to children is as much the inheritance                                                                                          
of core values as the transfer of wealth. Core values cannot                                                                                          
be transmitted by talk, they have to be inculcated by deed.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Likewise, the legacy of a chief executive is not just the                                                                                             
economic prosperity of the company; it has a lot to do with                                                                                           
the evolution, development and reinforcement of a corporate                                                                                           
culture that sets it apart as a noble, trustworthy and honest                                                                                         
organisation.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
The future will, indeed, be very different from today. Key                                                                                            
indicators suggest that change will move exponentially,                                                                                               
competition will intensify, customers will more demanding and                                                                                         
that only value-driven goods and services will prevail.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
The challenge for management is to prepare managers to master                                                                                         
the uncertain future. The pathway towards such mastery is to                                                                                          
maintain the IQ drive, particularly in the application of                                                                                             
technological tools, enhance EQ relationships, especially in                                                                                          
non-hierarchial settings, and promote SQ values that will mark                                                                                        
the organisation as worthy to do business with.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
* This article is extracted from the concluding chapter of the                                                                                        
book Management in Malaysia published by MIM and available in                                                                                         
bookstores now.