So Smart But...: How Intelligent People Lose Credibility - and How They Can Get it Back

by Allen N. Weiner

This fascinating book demonstrates that to be a good communicator and therefore an effective manager, a person must have five qualities in order to be viewed as totally credible–competence, character, composure, sociability, and extroversion. While some executives seem to possess all these qualities and be born with savvy communication skills, Weiner shows how anyone can find ways to make measurable improvements in how they present themselves that will enhance their credibility.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Self Help

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 11, 2006

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got about a third of the way through before I had to quit.

I bought this book hoping it would provide discussion on the difference between smart/competent employees that excel as individual contributors versus those that excel in leadership positions. Instead it reads like a corporate-consultant schmooze-manual. Not only are many of the recommendations simple and silly ("speak in short sentences", "emphasize consonants not vowels", "know how much detail to include based on your audience") but the chapters jump all over the place and include several jarring non-sequiturs.

I did find a few of the recommendations novel & narrowly applicable, hence two stars.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another standard business book. A lot of the advice in it sounds like common sense, but you should be able to find at least on tidbit in here that will help you on your professional journey.

[Marianne Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a good techie only gets you so far in IT career. This book explains how intelligent, knowledgeable people often struggle to be useful in large, complex organisations due to poor communication skills – often without even realising this.

My best takeaway from this book is five angles that Allen recommends to explore, prior to communicating an idea to others. These are: main point, breadth, depth, height, and sight.

Main point is a brief summary, for example: ‘Feature X can be delivered in three months by a team of N developers’. Breadth is about providing several supporting arguments, for example: 1) we have delivered Feature Y last year that is similar and also took three months; 2) based on our team velocity this work is estimated to take three months; 3) our release schedule means we’re best placed to go live at the end of June. Depth is about drilling into the detail of one of these supporting arguments to reinforce credibility, for example ‘we’ve been tracking team velocity for over a year and it is a reliable metric to estimate future work which is based on empirical data rather than wishful thinking’. Height takes the idea up a level, and shows the bigger picture, e.g. ‘when Feature X is delivered on mobile app, it will reduce calls to customer service’. Lastly, sight is about looking into the future: for example, ‘in 6 months time the organisation will be able to save X amount of money through introducing this new feature’. Not all five angles need to be communicated all the time to every person you’re talking to about Feature X, but these need to be clear in your head so that you can choose the right perspective for the right audience.

The flow of the book isn’t brilliant and the book is somewhat out of date with references to tools and behaviours that are no longer common in the modern workplace, however I found the book very useful and an enjoyable read.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Credibility: 45% the way you look, 45% the way you sound, 10% your words. This book is full of tips on being an effective public speaker.

[Jon-Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Corporate robot manual and nightmare creator for HR pros, but, still a good presentation of what people really expect.

[Kim Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat obvious in some ways but still a good and worthwhile read.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was disappointing for personal development. The author had some good points, but I thought the chapters weren't complete thoughts.