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Academic Underachievers Unite!
If you pulled a B or C average in college, good luck getting an interview with Google or other intellectually rigorous global employers. But according to Alan C. Guarino, an author and recruiter, companies that overemphasize academic performance systematically overlook valuable talent.
“Success, defined as business achievement, comes to a wide range of people. For some, it has little correlation to their classroom successes,” writes Guarino in his new book, Smart is Not Enough!
Of course, the prevailing wisdom is that academic performance is a proxy for the ability to learn new skills, even though it’s no guarantee of future success. Are there a lot of underachieving former valedictorians in our midst? (A brief look at some of the research in this area shows mixed results with regard to linking academic performance, academic testing and future success.)
Guarino highlights the business efficacy of academic underachievers. “When it comes to talent, the world is round with two very important poles - the North Pole, where the top-ranked academic achievers are found, and the South Pole, where the bright and savvy winners are found.”
It’s not an anti-intellectual rant; Guarino argues that companies should hire a mix of North and South Pole types. We have all known some ‘South Pole’ people who have achieved far beyond what their teachers and perhaps their friends may have expected of them. We admire people who overcome long odds and push forward with new ideas - that’s the hallmark of many innovators and entrepreneurs.
Will other recruiters be persuaded by Guarino’s thesis that ‘South Polers’ are an underappreciated talent pool?
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