Terminate The Terminator: Hack Your Emotional Intelligence And Control Your Future

Want to leave your number one business rival lying in a crumpled pile of rubble? Then put down your Android for a minute so you can size up exactly who that opponent is.

The assassin most likely to destroy your business isnt the guy down the street. Its not a brilliant 19-year-old coder lying in wait in a ranch house in Palo Alto.

Its a bot that does what you doeven better.

The singularity may sound like science fiction, but robots already write articles for newspapers sports sections, do surgery, fly jets and drones in the military, drive cars and answer phone calls for hotels and service firms. Bots beat our best chess champions on strategy. And theyre better managers than some leaders.One recent study at MIT found that people would rather work for a robot boss who gave out tasks than a person.

If robots can be encoded with artificial, emotional intelligence and it is greater than what you and your team have to offer to guests, you will be out of work. And emotional intelligence in robots is closer than youd think.

Want to keep a brainy, rolling hunk of metal from flattening you? Prep yourself to steal gigs from the terminators of the future by doing these five things:

Get Emotionally-Sharp. Smart leaders defend their businesses from the borgs by developing specialized knowledge, charged with super-talented human skills and emotional intelligence. They know that customers want to go where they feel like theyre being seen and heard. If you dont get customers better than a bot, theyll choose the bot.

Train yourself and your people with the latest research on the uses of emotional intelligence. And look for talent that is strong in this area. When I interview people, I ask: If you were to build a robot right now to replicate you, what 10 things would it need to have? I get all different types of answers. What I look for are qualities like integrity, tenacity, creativity, emotional maturity, leadership talent, conscientiousness, and perseverance.

Kick Off The SWAT Suit. You cant get a good read on customers feelings if your own are buried under 20 layers of scar tissue. Let your emotions rise before the machines do.

Sharpen your self-awareness by grilling yourself in challenging situations: How am I feeling about this? What internal and external resources can I bring to the table to help me solve this problem? How can I tap into what Im most passionate about to achieve my goal? How am I feeling relative to what I want to accomplish?