I've seen thousands of impressive resumes over the years, but one important lesson I've learned is that intelligence without emotional intelligence can be detrimental to your team and your business. I've seen thousands of impressive resumes over the years, and one important lesson I've learned is that smarts and brainpower without emotional intelligence are worse than unproductive. That realization pushed emotional intelligence — or emotional quotient — to the top of my hiring checklist. Things move fast, and emotional intelligence matters a lot. When you make emotional intelligence the first filter, you'll spend less time refereeing squabbles and more time building something worth the late nights.