In March 2026, one of the most high-profile legal precedents in tech history took place. In the United States, a twenty-year-old woman won a $6 million lawsuit against Google and Meta. The court ruled that the companies intentionally designed YouTube and Instagram to hook users on an endless feed, causing direct harm to their health. For us, as executives and entrepreneurs, this verdict is a diagnosis of our time. Short-form content and media multitasking are destroying a leader’s primary assets: intelligence quotient (IQ) and the ability to manage attention.
I am convinced that it is impossible to build an autonomous team and step away from day-to-day operations if you do not understand how cognitive resources work—both your own and those of your employees.
IQ as the Ultimate Predictor of Success
Many consider IQ to be a relic of the past or a “charlatan’s test.” This is a dangerous misconception. In reality, an IQ test measures what is known as the G-factor (general factor)—the overall speed of information processing and the ability to find solutions without a ready-made instruction manual.
My 15 years of experience show that IQ is not a static number. I personally raised my own score by about 20 points. And this is critically important, given that every additional IQ point translates to an extra $12,000 to $25,000 in cumulative earnings over a career. Furthermore, a 15-point difference in IQ results in up to a 20–30% variance in the risk of premature death. People with higher intelligence study longer, find themselves in financial dead ends less frequently, and assess risks more accurately.
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Why I Don’t Hire People with an IQ Below 120
In my company, we do not consider candidates for key positions with a score below 120. This is not discrimination; it is a pragmatic calculation.
When you hire a person, you are investing in their development. If an employee has a low cognitive threshold, they will inevitably hit an “invisible ceiling” in a year or a year and a half. They may be a wonderful and loyal person, but they will simply stop coping with new technologies and tasks. At that moment, the leader finds themselves in a trap: you want to show compassion to the employee, but delegating system development to them becomes impossible.
This approach is not a personal whim; it is the strategy of the world’s most efficient companies. A prime example is McKinsey & Company, one of the world’s leading consulting firms. They weed out the bulk of candidates before a recruiter even sees their resume for the first time, using their famous Problem Solving Test (PST).
The PST is not a high school math test. The candidate is given a real business case with a massive amount of data: tables, charts, financial statements. They must solve the problem and make the right decision within a limited timeframe without a calculator. This tests the actual speed of neural connections and the brain’s ability to perform under stress.
McKinsey supplements all of this with tests for verbal and logical reasoning. If a person does not clear this cognitive threshold, their professional experience does not matter. The logic is simple: tasks change every day, and if a person lacks a high G-factor, they will simply drown in the flood of new information.
If you want to turn order-takers into autonomous managers, you must hire those who are capable of grasping new things faster than the market changes.
The Main Killers of Your Intellect
Even a high natural IQ can be ruined. Research shows that chaotic multitasking reduces cognitive performance by an amount comparable to losing 10 IQ points.
What else kills your ability to lead?
- Social Media: Those who scroll through short videos for more than 3–4 hours a day show an 18% drop in sustained attention and working memory scores.
- Stress and Cortisol: Chronic stress literally shrinks the volume of the hippocampus. Just four days of high cortisol noticeably impairs memory.
- Sleep Deprivation: Those who consistently sleep less than 6–7 hours show lower test results. In a 4-hour sleep regimen, the brain looks as though it has aged by 8 years.
How to Break the System and Raise Your Level
IQ can be developed. Here are methods with scientifically proven efficacy that I practice myself:
- Physical Activity: A few months of aerobic training 3–4 times a week yield a steady increase in working memory and information processing speed.
- Video Games: Oddly enough, shooters and real-time strategies, when used moderately (a couple of hours 2–3 times a week), improve brain function over the long haul 3 to 4 times more effectively than chemical stimulants.
- Quality Education: Each additional year of schooling adds an average of 1–1.5% to your IQ.
- Conscious Information Consumption: Never skip a word or term you do not understand. The moment you glide past an unfamiliar acronym, you create mental fog. Stop and clarify the meaning using a dictionary or an AI tool—this trains cognitive discipline and strengthens intellect.
Intellect or System?
A team’s high IQ is the foundation, but it is not a panacea. You can hire geniuses but still make foolish mistakes when implementing a CRM, because rebuilding a business on the fly is a distinct technology that requires a system.
However, remember that without your people’s cognitive potential, any system will remain nothing more than a paper instruction manual. Want to delegate and win? Hire smart people, protect their attention from digital clutter, and constantly raise the bar for task complexity. That is the only way executors transform into leaders.
Alexander VISOTSKY,
Business management expert
