What makes a company really smart?

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A friend of mine mentioned a company he'd worked with recently saying,"They're really smart." I questioned him and said, "What exactly does that mean?"

He went on to say that in working with them they sum up a project with 1 of 4 different words. That 1 word is then given to those working on the project as the end goal of what needs to be communicated. 2 of the words were wisdom and rugged. The details of the project could have been anything, but if it didn't deliver in the end to communicate the 1 word, rugged for instance, it failed. This brought a lot of clarity as well as creative freedom to those working on the project because there was no question what the end game was supposed to communicate.

So what makes a company really smart in this example? 1 simple word that everyone can understand. What's yours?

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