Five Levels Of Intellect

Both Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett have an extraordinary gift for simplifying the complicated. They taught me that the most powerful ideas are often the clearest. I have since carried that lesson into my own work.

At Moki, a company that provides software for remotely managing hardware in retail environments, we faced a common challenge: overcoming CIOs' fear of losing control. Instead of delving into the technical depth and cybersecurity of our product, we focused on a single, compelling promise: "Total Control of their devices." This simple framing cut through the complexity and directly addressed their primary concern. It worked. 

An often-cited (but unverified) framework, attributed to Einstein, outlines five levels of intellect:

1. Smart: Possesses vast knowledge (e.g., a McKinsey consultant; whatever you think of them, they do know a lot).

2. Intelligent: Applies existing knowledge effectively (e.g., Michael Dell, who adapted the direct-to-consumer model for PCs).

3. Brilliant: Generates new ideas from existing knowledge (e.g., the founders of Uber or Airbnb).

4. Genius: Creates an entirely new field of thought (e.g., scientists like Yaneer Bar-Yam, who pioneered complex systems).

5. Simple: Distills profound complexity into elegant simplicity (e.g., Richard Feynman).

As a leader, my highest aspiration is to operate at that final level: simplifying without losing the essence.