Robin Sharma argues that roughly 90% of what makes top business producers successful is not raw cognitive ability, education, background, or talent but emotional intelligence (citing Daniel Goleman). He contrasts ego-driven behaviour in corporate settings with the value of "inner work" — practices such as journaling, silence, introspection, mirror work, and meaningful conversations — that build empathy, listening, inspiration, and motivating presence. Sharma suggests that sustained inner development creates a leadership presence that positively influences others (comparing it to Nelson Mandela).
Chapters
90% of what makes the best producers in business, the best producers in business was not their cognitive ability. It's not how smart you are. It wasn't their education, it wasn't their background, it wasn't their personal history. It wasn't their natural talent.
90%, according to Daniel Goleman's research, of.
What made the best producers in business the best was their emotional intelligence, their ability to listen, their ability to inspire, their ability to empathize, their ability to motivate, their ability to see someone going through a difficult day and say the right things required to lift them up. See, this is where the inner work comes in. You go to most businesses, you go to most public spaces. And what I see, and I'm a really. I'm an optimist, a flagrant optimist.
But I see people looking for what's worst.
In humanity versus what's best in humanity. You see victims tear people down.
Look at what she's wearing. Look at how he's talking. I see people sometimes, you know, they.
Slip or they trip and people laughing at it.
You see in a lot of corporations, and I know you're not from, let's say, the corporate world, but it's, how can I go into a meeting and stroke my ego.
And shine the light on myself so much that I feel better about me? And it's not until you do the inner work required where you actually fall in love with yourself, where you actually own your gifts and your talents, you actually say, I am not my fear, I'm not my anger, I'm not my ego. I am something so much bigger than what I have been taught by the world is who I am. And when you connect to that place of leadership and bigness and brilliance and humanity and bravery and love within you through years.
Of journaling, silence.
Introspection, looking in the mirror, conversations.
You say, I'm going to spend the rest of my life developing the kind of internal character I want to be.
Then you, like Nelson Mandela, can walk into a room and without saying a word, you radiate something that influences, touches, blesses everyone around you.
