Smart People?

I am trying to figure out what a smart person is in this age we live in today.

I encounter people who have spent their whole life educating themselves, earned titles but still not be smart. When they are faced with a situation, they don't do a good job of figuring it out. They even work in teams and no one from the team can come up with the right answer.

I know some people who are in grad school working on being a future CEO in corporate America and all I think as I talk to them is "I would not trust you with a bake sale." The Titanic is interesting because none of the obvious things are done to correct the ship and the focus is put on items that mean nothing in the whole scheme of things.

When all is said and done does smart measure really anything or is it all based on what you accomplish? Can smart people even get to do anything in this world? Does politics get in the way like construction cones during a Michigan summer?

This goes for types of organizations. Corporate America is riddled with politics. Government can bog things down and make innovation very difficult to even take place. It does not even matter what organization you are part of it is difficult to get good ideas through successfully.

What changes need to take place for really smart people to be allowed to navigate their way through things? Is it even possible?