In earlier years,IQ or Intelligence Quotient was revered as the hallmark of life long success.

It’s another issue of cognitive bias.
1) First if everyone is a genius with a PhD, and if you have EQ you are ahead (The oft quoted Bell study mentioned in “Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goldman)
2) On the other hand if you are not a genius with no PhD you don’t get the job.

So in business, if 3 of you are competing selling a similar product,
1) The one with a system is ahead
2) The guy with a system and some EQ is more ahead.
3) The guy with a system and Personal Branding (a tailored EQ system for his company) takes the jackpot.

My good friend and partner Raymond Ng commented that

“From experimental data, which of course you can say there is cognitive bias in it, I observe the following.

The one with the system is rarely ahead. If one does not have EQ (required for understanding basic market need), he is simply not in the game.”

I replied

“A collection of protocols that does not serve the intended beneficiary is bureaucracy.”

So in a rapidly evolving market place, earlier systems that provided superiority are rapidly subsumed by more advanced systems that provide a Competitive Edge. This is often referenced in Spiral Dynamics.

Whatever we idolise, we eventually demonize. As in the “Book of Changes”, the cycle swings. IQ is passé and EQ is the flavour of the month or is it. We now have something called AQ or Adversity Quotient.