First there was IQ, then came EQ, and now there is CQ

Remember IQ? Years ago, people talked a lot about their IQ, or intelligence.

Organizations, such as Mensa, were created around the concept of IQ. You, too, could join Mensa, if you scored at the 98 percentile or higher (meaning, you outscored all but 2% of the population). Then, for several reasons, IQ fell out of favor, although there has been a revival, under the name “cognitive ability.”

But, a few years ago, someone created a new concept called Emotional Intelligence (EI or EQ).

I, Michael Harris, had a blog entry where I defined EI as:

EI refers to the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions in us and in our relationships.

Most importantly, I provided a quiz for you to assess your EQ.

Now, I believe a new concept, cultural intelligence, or CQ, will become the new “thing” for the 21st century.

In this posting, I will define CQ, provide some articles for you to read, and most importantly, give you a quiz!

What is CQ? CQ refers cultural intelligence, and a simple definition is as follows: