What is the Difference Between Intelligence and Wisdom?

Here is one published answer: “Intelligence is the ability to learn and understand new information, while wisdom is the ability to apply that knowledge with judgment and understanding, often gained through experience. Intelligence is about grasping information, while wisdom is about using it effectively and ethically. ” - aconsciousrethink.com

What does this mean to us as business owners and sales representatives? 

The most elementary observation is that they are not one and the same. My second thought is that without intelligence, it would be hard to put wisdom to good use. 

Enter the current global buzzword: “AI.” What? How dare I classify this vim and vigorous new technological wonder as a buzzword? It‘s real, isn’t it? Oh wait… it starts with the word “artificial.” We’ve seen it do real things, right? Of  course we have, it’s all around us, things that both impress and annoy us. 

Here’s why I call it a buzzword; The term “artificial intelligence" was dubbed by Professor John McCarthy in 1956 (the year of my infamous birth) in the company of some other prominent minds of the time at Dartmouth College. The acronym started being used in the 60’s; in 1997, DeepBlue (an IBM Super Computer) beat world chess champion, Gary Kasparov. In 2006, Twitter and Facebook were using it in their advertising algorithms and in 2011, Apple released Siri. In 2015 Musk, Hawking and Wozniak (along with 3,000 others) signed a document against AI warfare, and today we have ChatGPT and Copilot. Shoot, when I was a kid we had the Jetson’s, right? Eventually, what science fiction dreams up becomes some form of reality.  

What does this AI mean to business? More and more everyday, more tools in the communications, integration and business tool box. So why the article? Why the title question asking what the difference between intelligence and wisdom is? My not so humble opinion is that wisdom will become more valuable as technology washes over us and the volume of data at our fingertips continues to pull us in every direction but one of “focus.” If wisdom and pragmatic protocols aren’t created and adhered to, we run the risk as sales professionals of taking our eye off the ball. So what is the ball? The benefit that buyers experience in having us in their lives. 

The delicate balance between knowledge and application is what makes us human. Stuff for the sake of stuff, information for the sake of information, yields volume, not necessarily quality. Quality of life is what luxury marketing sales professionals provide the world. Let’s look at the difference between those things that Amazon sells best vs. people looking to purchase a life altering something or another, such as a boat or a piano, or a plot of land in New Mexico to retire to. Yes, items such as tires and the entire Amazon catalog lend themselves to e-commerce, yet even if you go to a dating site, it’s highly advisable to meet the person before you take the plunge, right? My point? Meeting something and experiencing it before you purchase it will always be a necessity for the majority of purchases in the luxury marketing space. The person buying a yacht will most often want to walk onto the deck and check it out. Fine jewelry purchasers will still want to put a stone under a lens. Handmade pianos, as well as many other fine instruments, will still need to be felt and experienced before someone takes them home. Ergo, a specialist to put all the options, product specs, and capabilities into context will still be needed.   

A luxury marketing sales professional has a phenomenally important place in the making of the appropriate purchasing decision. The practical advice from world experiences that he/she brings to the dance is critical. Let’s call it “borrowed wisdom” because with all the stats, specs and data available in today’s world, it most often takes someone with practical experience to help luxury service or product buyers distill their need down into the proper options to consider. Oh yes, those shoppers are many, who believe since they’ve done a lot of research that they are fully capable of making a decision without the help of the dreaded salesman (no gender intended). They don’t often understand in advance that a discovery process, in which the proper questions are asked, will inspire them to make the best possible choice. A pragmatic purchase can be reached best with a specialist weighing in to keep things in context.  

The above paragraph pokes me to mention that if a sales associate positions themselves psychologically as more of a concierge, it will cause some emotional and mental separation in the prospects mind between them vs. the hungry and aggressive reputation that past, poor sales people have given the rest of us. Patience, being a virtue, is the wisest thing to apply to luxury marketing prospects. Intelligence and data independent from a caring concierge will not make them feel as trusting and comfortable as they need to feel to pull the trigger. Making a friend, earning their trust, will.   

I don’t want to downplay the importance of AI and technological tools of the trade because if you want to build a good house, you need the right tools and material. 

The apps, integrations and automations we have today create a formidable array of sales weapons, yet as with all weapons, they only work well if operated properly. The scary reality is this: you can have intelligence without wisdom. Wouldn't it be wise to examine how you administer the intelligence you have at your disposal and make sure that it fits a well defined mission? Whatever you sell, technology is your best friend. It levels the playing field and allows independent businesses, who learn to harness it, the ability to compete by managing their reputation and sales activities in a positive way. The takeaway here is that one without the other is not the recipe for growth and production. Context makes data dangerously applicable. Let’s use a real life example: if you create a great CTA (call to action) or ad that encourages people to become prospects, you have an opportunity created by intelligent targeting or a capture. The difference however, in the value of the leads, is how you treat them. I don’t want to start another topic so I’ll stop there, but suffice to say that a wise sales professional will experiment their ass off and find a protocol that will convert the leads into contacts and contacts into friends. That would be using intelligence wisely. This is what we do. We build strategies that convert buyers into leads that are opportunities for our clients. We provide a fundamentally, psychologically sound sales funnel which is the perfect marriage between intelligence and using it wisely. 

A sales professional who uses intelligence coupled with wisdom contributes positively to the lives of others. Seek to serve a higher good with the combination of the two. Helping buyers make the best possible choice by asking the right questions that shepherd them to an appropriate decision is an honorable way to make a living. That takes both intelligence and wisdom, don’t you think? 

“Never mistake intelligence for wisdom. One helps you make a living, the other helps you make a life.” - Dr. Sandra Carey, Clinical Psychologist

“Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, Wisdom is of the future.”  - Native American Proverb (Lumbee)