The Measure of Intelligence

Hey team! All right, here we are again. What a beautiful day! I thought I would give you guys a little bit of thought and process around something Albert Einstein said way back when. “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”

The measure of intelligence is the ability to change, and I agree with that. Having lived as long as I’ve lived, I’ve come to realize that I’ve seen some people change and get better. And I’ve seen some people not change so much and try to hold to their way of doing things. Can you imagine if our society and life had not changed? And we were still trying to do everything on horse and buggy? Now, some of you might be saying, “Chad, I kind of would like that.”

Imagine if we didn’t have indoor plumbing and every night you had to get up and walk 150 feet to an outhouse. Indoor plumbing, all of a sudden, right? Change.

We have times where change happens so quickly. Advancements and movement forward in society and sometimes we feel like it’s been too fast. That, I also understand. But the measure of our intelligence is also in the change. How we change, how we communicate, and how we have relationships.

I’ve learned a lot over these last number of years on how to love and respect my wife in a different way, and my children, and train, coach, and mentor them. How to work within the team. Here at Northwest Enforcement, there are people that have been here for a fairly long time who have seen a change in me. There are people that have been here a short time who have seen a change in me, and they tell me it’s for the better. So, I’m trusting that they know what they’re talking about—that I have made changes for the better, and that my intelligence has grown because I have changed the way I do things, the way I rely on others.

I step back. Don’t push in all the time on every subject. I let others’ wisdom grow. I give counsel, discernment, and thought, but I don’t say, “It’s my way or the highway.” That is intelligence. That is change.

As we continue to grow here at Northwest Enforcement, as you continue to grow, think about what’s going to measure your intelligence. It’s going to be the changes that you make for the better. If you’re going through something now, what can that be teaching you? What can you learn from that? Who can you grasp on to learn from and grow from to get better at what you do?

I love seeing and hearing about how our leadership team is having other team members come to them as they’re growing and asking questions. They’re rising to success because of that relationship and that growth, and their intelligence is increasing because of the changes they’re making in their lives.

I think that really is an instrument of what Einstein was talking about. Our intelligence is measured mostly by our ability to change and grow in our intellect and our relationship-building in the long term.

With that, on this beautiful day, I want you to think about these things and go grow your intelligence today. God bless you, have a wonderful week, and I will see you next week. Again, I love these times. I love this moment where we get to just spend a few minutes talking about leadership, growth, change, where we’re going, and what we’re doing.

Let’s remember to be valuable because nothing less will do. God bless you. See you next week!