Stupid and Proud

Every CEO she had ever met told her that she was smarter than he.

"You know how I got into this position? A lot of hard work and determination, that's how."

She wondered if this was really a good thing. In her work she had seen drinking and socializing called "networking". She had seen hours upon hours of time wasted by others (giggling over pictures) while she had been reprimanded for leaving work too early even though she had gotten in before most people were even awake. Worst of all, she had been held back because her boss was threatened by her. Her intelligence seemed to be a cross to bear unlike her co-worker's incompetence and long hours which were worn like stripes on their chests.

She tried to make sense of it all. When she went to a doctor's office, their credentials were posted loudly on the walls. Anyone could see that this person was trained and qualified. Good grades were a badge of honor. The same applied to lawyers. A lawyer could boast about graduating at the top of his class and leverage that into a job with the firm of his choice. No one wants to go to a doctor or a lawyer with no schooling, but "a great attitude".

It was a prisoner's dilemma of sorts. If the big guys in charge were all to admit that being smart and well educated was an advantage, then businesses would begin to use that as their hiring criteria. The whole system would be arranged by people with efficiency and logic in mind. The problem though was that if only one CEO were to admit to his deficiency and more importantly, the deficiency in the system (in a public forum), then only that CEO would feel the effects of his admission. The other CEOs would simlpy smile, shut their mouths and keep on truckin'.