Smarts

Why do certain tasks seem easier for some people than for others? Why do some individuals excel in one job and flounder in another? Why are personal weaknesses relatively stable and difficult to change?

In Smarts, authors Chuck Martin, Peg Dawson, and Richard Guare suggest that a personal combination of twelve Executive Skills account for these occurrences: Self-Restraint, Working Memory, Emotional Control, Focus, Task Initiation, Planning/Prioritization, Organization, Time Management, Achieving and Defining Goals, Flexibility, Observation, and Stress Tolerance.

Primarily located in the frontal regions of the brain, Executive Skills develop early in life and remain relatively stable over time. Despite the resistance of Executive Skills to change, individuals can use knowledge of their Executive Skills strengths and weaknesses to identify jobs or tasks that will play to their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. The authors effectively teach readers how to obtain such knowledge and utilize it to increase personal and organizational satisfaction and productivity.