Street Smarts v’s Book Smarts
// October 29th, 2009 // No Comments » // social media
So which is better? Street Smarts or Book Smarts?
No doubt, you’ll get a different answer, depending on the person giving it. Usually going with whichever they were blessed with. Just like the beauty and brains combo, rarely are we given both.
There’s some people I prefer book smarts from. Like, a Doctor. People in technical fields need their book smarts. I expect NASA astronauts to be book smart.
However, people who work with the public are better off with street smarts. When I work promotions, I notice the ambassadors with scientific college degrees just don’t seem to “Click” that well with the public. Maybe they just use the other side of their brain. Or maybe they look at everything in atoms and don’t take people’s individual personalities into account. Maybe it’s just that the street smart people are more adaptable to each situation and can read each individual person better. Maybe the street smarts person isn’t locked into a way of thinking about a situation.
When starting a new approach to anything, always get several opinions. If you’re lucky enough to work with several people, get all of their opinions. Don’t dismiss someone just because you have a college degree and they don’t. They may have life experiences that you don’t. For example, I don’t have a college degree. I started working as a model at the age of 3 and was working full time as an actress by the age of 6. I had to juggle school and work. I had to deal with the public. Extensively. I have continued working my whole life, in several different fields. I may only be 32, but I’ve been working for over 26 years. Compare that to a 32 yr old who didn’t get into the workforce till after a bachelors degree. They only have 10 years experience. Minus a couple of years to work out that everything they learnt in college isn’t gospel and that’s not that long out in the field. I’d hire the experience over the degree anyday.
Life isn’t long enough to learn everything from your own mistakes. It’s OK to learn from someone else’s. So, ask someone else’s opinion. Get several different perspectives. All of them are valid. Don’t judge or dismiss someone just because they don’t have a degree. They may have learnt from the School of Life.
When working on your Social Media campaign, make sure you’re picking the right people to communicate your brand message. If you get a technical question, let the Book Smart answer. If you get a customer question, let the Street Smart person deal with it.
