When you’re running about your day with a mile long “to do” list, it’s unlikely you have the extra time to figure out how everyone is feeling about everything. To you – you’re building a company, developing a product, raising money, trying to find resources and so on. You don’t have the time to focus on the emotional state of being of everyone around you. This is where we make mistakes that stunt the progress of our business.

“The key to emotional intelligence is determining which button to press in which situation.” 

What is emotional intelligence? Emotional intelligence is the ability to read and understand your own emotions as well as others’ emotions in the context of a particular situation to maximize the result. It’s not enough to build a product or service and execute sales, manage your marketing and operations. You must also manage the constant human interactions you will have with employees, consultants, vendors, investors, customers and others. The success of these interactions determines how easy and effective—painful or painless—meeting your company’s business goals and your personal goals will be.

Emotional intelligence is about applying the right approach for a particular individual, in a particular moment. This means reading the person, the scene, and anticipating how it will play out. Improving your emotional intelligence is a lifelong endeavor.