How To Outsmart The Smartest

In my first job as an analyst in London, I was surrounded by brilliant minds, while I was fresh out of university, just trying to keep up.

At first, I felt like I had to match them, be just as fast, just as sharp. But after a few months of trying to keep up, I realized something important: I didn’t need to outsmart them by being the smartest in the room. It was exhausting and, frankly, pointless. What I needed was a different strategy.

Here’s how I learned to outsmart the smartest:

Make People Feel Like Experts: I quickly realized that people love to teach. So, I turned the tables. When someone explained something to me, I made them feel like they were teaching a masterclass. By making them feel like experts, I created an environment where they’d happily share even more knowledge, and I absorbed everything like a sponge.

Those early days in London taught me one of the most important lessons of my career: You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room to succeed. It’s not about knowing everything, it’s about knowing how to make others feel valued.