OPINION: Why AQ matters in 2026 |
The ‘Q’ factor. These are the days of Quotients. We started with IQ, i.e., the intelligence quotient. That gave way to EQ, i.e., the emotional quotient. Then SQ, i.e., spiritual quotient became hot talk. These days companies are talking about AQ, i.e., the adaptability quotient.
Rightly so. The speed of change is a knockoff. With the world spinning around, before a product is launched, it becomes obsolete. Before a policy is launched, it expires. Before content is made, it goes viral. In such times, it is not the survival of the fittest but the survival of the most adaptable. The human brain has great capacity to adapt but does not like to adapt. Brain can learn and relearn new things. Brain is also a repetition organ. Repetition means predictability. When we repeat a behavior, we create clear neural pathways that enable more automatic processing. Familiar actions engage the brains part called basal ganglia, central to habit formation and routine behaviors. New behaviour creates unpredictability that the brain does not like. New behaviors require the brain to construct fresh pathways, which takes time, focus and will power.
Routines are easy because they are safe pathways the brain has travelled many times before. However, at present, except for more and more work, there are very few things that remain the same. From economic changes to climate changes, the list of change is long. In the corporate world, the new norm is that there is no norm. You go to work, and find out the company is announcing cuts in pay. You come back home and find out the wifi has disappeared. You open........