What do you do when you find out that you're the smartest person in the room?

sprasad pujari Sr.Test Engineer at Trigent Software Ltd

October 9th, 2016

A few people have told me that they always want to surround themselves with people more advanced than them. They say they always want to be the dumbest person in the room.

Saravjit Singh Independent Consultant and Trainer

October 9th, 2016

I do not ever consider myself to be so smart that I can not learn from others.

So, I do my best to keep quiet and listen and listen more and more. I speak only when asked about my opinion. When answering, I try to simplify the answer as much as possible - avoiding jargon as far as possible.

Vivienne Lee Founder at YouMeWho

October 9th, 2016

Leave the room of course! :)

Gabor Nagy Founder / Chief architect at Skyline Robotics

October 9th, 2016

@Vivienne That's not always an option.
Sometimes, you have to be there for a meeting.
:)
Not to mention that there's always something you can learn from almost anyone...

Vivienne Lee Founder at YouMeWho

October 9th, 2016

Lol Gabor, I was just being sarcastic, based on the advice sprasad said he got. I can't even figure out how to tag people here! @'s not working for me.

MaxBlox/Founder Institute Director, Chennai Area at The Founder Institute

October 10th, 2016

Check your arrogance at the door, before you enter the room. Have you seen "are you smarter than a fith-grader" show? Humans are simply not that smart enough to have this much arrogance. Any three people are going to know more than all the things you know or all the answers you can come up with. If you forget your car keys, made an investment that lost money, or got divorced: you simply aren't smart enough!